| Good News Translation (GNT) |
New International Version (NIV) |
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1 After this, Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward."
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1 After 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."
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2 But Abram answered, "Sovereign Lord, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus.
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2 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"
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3 You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property."
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3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
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4 Then he heard the Lord speaking to him again: "This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir."
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4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir."
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5 The Lord took him outside and said, "Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that."
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5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
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6 Abram put his trust in the Lord, and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.
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6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
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7 Then the Lord said to him, "I am the Lord, who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own."
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7 He 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."
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8 But Abram asked, "Sovereign Lord, how can I know that it will be mine?"
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8 But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
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9 He answered, "Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon."
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9 So 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."
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10 Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds.
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10 Abram 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.
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11 Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off.
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11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
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12 When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him.
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12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.
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13 The Lord said to him, "Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years.
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13 Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
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14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and when they leave that foreign land, they will take great wealth with them.
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14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.
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15 You yourself will live to a ripe old age, die in peace, and be buried.
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15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.
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16 It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished."
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16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."
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17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals.
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17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
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18 Then and there the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, "I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the Euphrates River,
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18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates--
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19 including the lands of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
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19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
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20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
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20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
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21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
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21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
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| Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission. (The Good News Translation - The Holy Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
