Genesis 15 Geneva Bible (1599)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Original 16th-century spelling.
1 After these things, the worde of the Lord came vnto Abram in a vision, saying, Feare not, Abram, I am thy buckler, and thine exceeding great reward.
1 After these things Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2 And Abram said, O Lord God, what wilt thou giue me, seeing I goe childlesse, and the steward of mine house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
2 Abram said, “Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 Againe Abram saide, Beholde, to me thou hast giuen no seede: wherefore loe, a seruant of mine house shalbe mine heire.
3 Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
4 Then beholde, the worde of the Lord came vnto him, saying, This man shall not be thine heire, but one that shall come out of thine owne bowels, he shalbe thine heire.
4 Behold, Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”
5 Moreouer he brought him forth and said, Looke vp nowe vnto heauen, and tell ye starres, if thou be able to number them: and he said vnto him, So shall thy seede be.
5 Yahweh brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So your offspring will be.”
6 And Abram beleeued the Lord, and he counted that to him for righteousnesse.
6 He believed in Yahweh, who credited it to him for righteousness.
7 Againe he saide vnto him, I am the Lord, that brought thee out of Vr of the Caldees, to giue thee this land to inherite it.
7 He said to Abram, “I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8 And he said, O Lord God, whereby shall I knowe that I shall inherite it?
8 He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?”
9 Then he said vnto him, Take me an heifer of three yeeres olde, and a shee goate of three yeeres olde, and a ramme of three yeeres olde, a turtle doue also and a pigeon.
9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
10 So he tooke all these vnto him, and deuided them into the middes, and laid euery piece one against an other: but the birdes deuided he not.
10 He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.
11 Then foules fell on the carkases, and Abram droue them away.
11 The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
12 And when the sunne went downe, there fell an heauie sleepe vpon Abram: and loe, a very fearefull darkenes fell vpon him.
12 When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.
13 Then he saide to Abram, Knowe for a suretie, that thy seede shalbe a stranger in a land, that is not theirs, foure hundreth yeeres, and shall serue them: and they shall intreate them euill.
13 He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
14 Notwithstanding the nation, whom they shall serue, will I iudge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
14 I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth;
15 But thou shalt goe vnto thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buried in a good age.
15 but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried at a good old age.
16 And in the fourth generation they shall come hither againe: for the wickednes of the Amorites is not yet full.
16 In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.”
17 Also when the sunne went downe, there was a darkenes: and behold, a smoking fornace, and a firebrand, which went betweene those pieces.
17 It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18 In that same day the Lord made a couenant with Abram, saying, Vnto thy seede haue I giuen this lande, from the riuer of Egypt vnto the great riuer, the riuer Euphrates.
18 In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizites, and the Kadmonites,
19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21 The Amorites also, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Iebusites.
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abraham
Called by God, he left home in faith to become the father of a chosen people.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 12–25
Eliezer of Damascus
A man of Damascus in Abram's household whom Abram named as the heir of his house while he remained childless.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 15:2
Cross references (21)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 119:114; Psalm 84:11; Hebrews 13:5–6; Genesis 26:24
- 2 Genesis 25:21; 1 Samuel 1:11; Acts 7:5; Genesis 12:1–3; Genesis 44:1
- 3 Genesis 14:14; Proverbs 29:21; Ecclesiastes 2:7
- 4 Genesis 17:16; Galatians 4:28; 2 Samuel 7:12; Genesis 21:12; 2 Chronicles 32:21
- 5 Hebrews 11:12; Romans 4:18; Deuteronomy 1:10; Exodus 32:13; Genesis 22:17
- 6 James 2:23; Galatians 3:6–14; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:20–25; Romans 4:3–6
- 7 Genesis 12:1; Acts 7:2–4; Romans 4:13; Psalm 105:42; Genesis 13:15–17
- 8 Luke 1:18; Luke 1:34; 2 Kings 20:8; Isaiah 7:11; Psalm 86:17
- 9 Leviticus 14:22; Leviticus 14:30; Luke 2:24; Leviticus 3:6; Leviticus 3:1
- 10 Jeremiah 34:18–19; Leviticus 1:17; Genesis 15:17
- 11 Matthew 13:4; Psalm 119:13; Ezekiel 17:7; Ezekiel 17:3
- 12 Genesis 2:21; Job 33:15; Daniel 10:8–9; Acts 9:8–9; Job 4:13–14
- 13 Acts 7:6–7; Exodus 1:11; Exodus 12:40–41; Acts 7:17; Exodus 1:1–2
- 14 Nehemiah 9:9–11; Exodus 6:5–6; Exodus 12:32–38; Joshua 24:4–7; Exodus 7:1–14
- 15 Job 5:26; Genesis 25:7–9; 2 Chronicles 34:28; Numbers 27:13; Daniel 12:13
- 16 1 Kings 21:26; Daniel 8:23; Matthew 23:32–35; Exodus 12:40; 1 Thessalonians 2:16
- 17 Jeremiah 34:18–19; Judges 6:21; Jeremiah 11:4; Exodus 3:2–3; 1 Chronicles 21:26
- 18 Joshua 1:3–4; Genesis 12:7; Genesis 24:7; Genesis 13:15; Deuteronomy 11:24
- 19 Numbers 24:21–22
- 20 Genesis 14:5; Isaiah 17:5
- 21 Exodus 23:23–28; Exodus 33:2; Genesis 10:15–19; Matthew 8:28; Exodus 34:11
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
For Matthew the apostle-- knowing, as one and the same God, Him who had given promise to Abraham, that He would make his seed as the stars of heaven, and Him who, by His Son Christ Jesus, has called us to the knowledge of Himself, from the worship of stones, so that those who were not a people were made …
Here, indeed, is set down that sentence which the apostle quotes in order to commend the grace of God, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness;" lest the circumcision should glory, and be unwilling to receive the uncircumcised nations to the faith of Christ.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
For both Stephen saith, "Receive my spirit;" and Paul, "To depart and to be with Christ is far better;" and of the patriarch too the Scripture saith, that "he was gathered unto his fathers, being cherished in a good old age." And as to the proof, that neither can the souls of sinners continue here; hear the rich man making …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
… last times was made visible and passible, and spake with the human race, that He might from the stones raise up children unto Abraham, and fulfil the promise which God had given him, and that He might make his seed as the stars of heaven, as John the Baptist says: "For God is able from these stones to raise up …
In the same vision, God in speaking to him also says, "I am God that brought thee out of the region of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." And when Abram asked whereby he might know that he should inherit it, God said to him, "Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she-goat …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)