| NET Bible | New International Version |
| 1After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance." | 1After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." |
| 2But Abram said, "O sovereign LORD, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?" | 2But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" |
| 3Abram added, "Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!" | 3And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." |
| 4But look, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir." | 4Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir." |
| 5The LORD took him outside and said, "Gaze into the sky and count the stars--if you are able to count them!" Then he said to him, "So will your descendants be." | 5He took him outside and said, "Look up at the sky and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." |
| 6Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty. | 6Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. |
| 7The LORD said to him, "I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess." | 7He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." |
| 8But Abram said, "O sovereign LORD, by what can I know that I am to possess it?" | 8But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?" |
| 9The LORD said to him, "Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." | 9So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." |
| 10So Abram took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half. | 10Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. |
| 11When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. | 11Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. |
| 12When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him. | 12As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. |
| 13Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. | 13Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. |
| 14But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions. | 14But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. |
| 15But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. | 15You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. |
| 16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit." | 16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." |
| 17When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts. | 17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. |
| 18That day the LORD made a covenant with Abram: "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River-- | 18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-- |
| 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, | 19the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, |
| 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, | 20Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, |
| 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites." | 21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites." |
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