15:1 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will ·defend [L be a shield to] you, and ·I will give you a great reward [L your reward will be great].”
15:2 But Abram said, “Lord God [C Hebrew Adonai Yahweh; combination of covenant name YHWH (2:4) with common Hebrew word for “sir,” “lord,” or “master”], what can you give me? I ·have no son [am childless], so my ·slave [servant] Eliezer from Damascus [C a major city in Syria] will ·get everything I own after I die [be my heir; C a household servant would take care of a childless couple in their old age and in turn inherit their possessions].”
15:3 Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son, so a slave born in my house will ·inherit everything I have [be my heir].”
15:4 Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram: “He will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”
15:5 Then God led Abram outside and said, “Look at the ·sky [heavens]. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your ·descendants [L seed] also will be too many to count.”
15:6 Abram ·believed [put his trust/faith in] the Lord. And the Lord ·accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [T counted/credited it as righteousness; Rom. 4:3, 9, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23].
15:7 God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of ·Babylonia [L the Chaldeans] so that I could give you this land ·to own [L as a possession; 12:1–3].”
15:8 But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I ·be sure [L know] that I will ·own this land [possess/inherit it]?”
15:9 ·The Lord [L He] said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ·male sheep [ram], a ·dove [turtledove], and a young pigeon.”
15:10 Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram ·killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces [L split them down the middle], laying each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half.
15:11 Later, ·large birds [or birds of prey] flew down to eat the ·animals [L carcasses], but Abram chased them away [C perhaps representing later enemies of Israel].
15:12 As the sun was ·going down [setting], Abram fell into a deep sleep. While he was asleep, a very ·terrible [or frightening] darkness came.
15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your ·descendants [L seed] will be ·strangers [sojourners; wanderers; resident aliens] in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and ·be cruel to [oppress] them for four hundred years.
15:14 But I will ·punish [judge] the nation ·where they are slaves [L which they serve]. Then your ·descendants [L seed] will leave that land, taking great ·wealth [possessions] with them.
15:15 And you, Abram, will ·die [L go to your fathers/ancestors] in peace and will be buried at an old age.
15:16 ·After your great-great-grandchildren are born [L After the fourth generation], ·your people [L they] will come ·to this land [L here] again. It will take that long, because ·I am not yet going to punish the Amorites for their evil behavior [T the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete; C Amorites is one name for the pre-Israelite inhabitants of Canaan].”
15:17 After the sun went down, it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch [C fire and smoke often represent God] passed between the ·halves of the dead animals [L pieces; C a self-curse ritual; by passing between the pieces of the sacrifice, one vowed to keep an agreement or suffer the same fate as the animals].
15:18 So on that day the Lord ·made an agreement [L cut a covenant/treaty; 6:18] with Abram and said, “I will give to your ·descendants [L seed] the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates.
15:19 This is the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites [C the name of peoples who lived in pre-Israelite Canaan].”
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