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Genesis 15
New King James Version

### God’s Covenant with Abram(A)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram (B)in a vision, saying, (C)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your (D)shield, [a]your exceedingly (E)great reward.”

2 (F)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, (G)seeing I [b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed (H)one[c] born in my house is my heir!”

4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who (I)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and (J)count the (K)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, (L)“So shall your (M)descendants be.”

6 And he (N)believed in the Lord, and He (O)accounted it to him for righteousness.

7 Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who (P)brought you out of (Q)Ur of the Chaldeans, (R)to give you this land to inherit it.”

8 And he said, “Lord God, (S)how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

9 So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he brought all these to Him and (T)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut (U)the birds in two. 11 And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, (V)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly (W)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and (X)they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve (Y)I will judge; afterward (Z)they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, (AA)you shall [d]go (AB)to your fathers in peace; (AC)you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But (AD)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity (AE)of the Amorites (AF)is not yet complete.”

17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that (AG)passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord (AH)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

(AI)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

#### Footnotes

1. Genesis 15:1 Or your reward shall be very great
2. Genesis 15:2 am childless
3. Genesis 15:3 a servant
4. Genesis 15:15 Die and join your ancestors

#### Cross references

1. Genesis 15:1 : Heb. 11:8–10
2. Genesis 15:1 : Gen. 15:4; 46:2; 1 Sam. 15:10; Dan. 10:1
3. Genesis 15:1 : Gen. 21:17; 26:24; Is. 41:10; Dan. 10:12
4. Genesis 15:1 : Deut. 33:29; Ps. 3:3; 84:11; 91:4
5. Genesis 15:1 : Num. 18:20; Ps. 58:11; Prov. 11:18
6. Genesis 15:2 : Gen. 17:18
7. Genesis 15:2 : Acts 7:5
8. Genesis 15:3 : Gen. 14:14
9. Genesis 15:4 : 2 Sam. 7:12; Gal. 4:28
10. Genesis 15:5 : Gen. 22:17; 26:4; Deut. 1:10; Ps. 147:4
11. Genesis 15:5 : Jer. 33:22
12. Genesis 15:5 : Ex. 32:13; Rom. 4:18; Heb. 11:12
13. Genesis 15:5 : Gen. 17:19
14. Genesis 15:6 : Gen. 21:1; Rom. 4:3, 9, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23
15. Genesis 15:6 : Ps. 32:2; 106:31
16. Genesis 15:7 : Gen. 12:1
17. Genesis 15:7 : Gen. 11:28, 31
18. Genesis 15:7 : Gen. 13:15, 17; Ps. 105:42, 44
19. Genesis 15:8 : Gen. 24:13, 14; Judg. 6:36–40; 1 Sam. 14:9, 10; Luke 1:18
20. Genesis 15:10 : Gen. 15:17; Jer. 34:18
21. Genesis 15:10 : Lev. 1:17
22. Genesis 15:12 : Gen. 2:21; 28:11; Job 33:15
23. Genesis 15:13 : Ex. 1:11; Acts 7:6
24. Genesis 15:13 : Ex. 12:40
25. Genesis 15:14 : Ex. 6:6
26. Genesis 15:14 : Ex. 12:36
27. Genesis 15:15 : Job 5:26
28. Genesis 15:15 : Gen. 25:8; 47:30
29. Genesis 15:15 : Gen. 25:8
30. Genesis 15:16 : Gen. 15:13; Ex. 12:41
31. Genesis 15:16 : Gen. 48:22; Lev. 18:24–28; 1 Kin. 21:26
32. Genesis 15:16 : 1 Kin. 11:12; Matt. 23:32
33. Genesis 15:17 : Jer. 34:18, 19
34. Genesis 15:18 : Gen. 24:7
35. Genesis 15:18 : Gen. 12:7; 17:8; Ex. 23:31; Num. 34:3; Deut. 11:24; Josh. 1:4; 21:43; Acts 7:5

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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