He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out(A) of Ur of the Chaldeans(B) to give you this land to take possession of it.”(C)

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,(D) how can I know(E) that I will gain possession of it?”(F)

So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,(G) a goat and a ram, each three years old,(H) along with a dove and a young pigeon.(I)

10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;(J) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.(K) 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,(L) but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,(M) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years(N) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved(O) and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out(P) with great possessions.(Q) 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors(R) in peace and be buried at a good old age.(S) 16 In the fourth generation(T) your descendants will come back here,(U) for the sin of the Amorites(V) has not yet reached its full measure.”

17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch(W) appeared and passed between the pieces.(X) 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram(Y) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,(Z) from the Wadi[a] of Egypt(AA) to the great river, the Euphrates(AB)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 15:18 Or river

And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

And he said, Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?

And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not.

11 And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away.

12 And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

15 And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16 But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:

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Then I will make my covenant between me and you(A) and will greatly increase your numbers.”(B)

Abram fell facedown,(C) and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you:(D) You will be the father of many nations.(E) No longer will you be called Abram[a]; your name will be Abraham,[b](F) for I have made you a father of many nations.(G) I will make you very fruitful;(H) I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you.(I) I will establish my covenant(J) as an everlasting covenant(K) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God(L) and the God of your descendants after you.(M) The whole land of Canaan,(N) where you now reside as a foreigner,(O) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;(P) and I will be their God.(Q)

Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant,(R) you and your descendants after you for the generations to come.(S) 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.(T) 11 You are to undergo circumcision,(U) and it will be the sign of the covenant(V) between me and you. 12 For the generations to come(W) every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised,(X) including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner—those who are not your offspring. 13 Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised.(Y) My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant.(Z) 14 Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised(AA) in the flesh, will be cut off from his people;(AB) he has broken my covenant.(AC)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 17:5 Abram means exalted father.
  2. Genesis 17:5 Abraham probably means father of many.

And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.

And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,

As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.

And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.

And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.

11 And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.

13 He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.

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72 to show mercy to our ancestors(A)
    and to remember his holy covenant,(B)
73     the oath he swore to our father Abraham:(C)
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him(D) without fear(E)
75     in holiness and righteousness(F) before him all our days.

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72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

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25 And you are heirs(A) of the prophets and of the covenant(B) God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’[a](C)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 3:25 Gen. 22:18; 26:4

25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

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16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.(A) Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,”[a](B) meaning one person, who is Christ.

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Footnotes

  1. Galatians 3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7

16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

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