Genesis 15:14

14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.

Genesis 15:14 in Other Translations

KJV
14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
ESV
14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
NLT
14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
MSG
14 Then I'll punish their slave masters; your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder.
CSB
14 However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterwards they will go out with many possessions.

Genesis 15:14 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 15:14

And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge
It is not said "the land" in which they were strangers, though God did judge, condemn, and punish the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and drove them out of it, to make way for Israel; but the "nation" they should "serve", meaning the Egyptians, to whom they became servants, and were very hardly and severely used by them; those the Lord threatens to enter into judgment with, and take vengeance upon them, as he did by inflicting the ten plagues on them, which brought them at last to be willing to let Israel go:

and afterward shall they come out with great substance;
as they did after the four hundred years were ended, and after the Egyptian nation was judged and punished; then they came out of Egypt, with much gold, silver, jewels, and raiment, which they borrowed of the Egyptians, who were spoiled by them, though very justly; this being but a payment of them for the hard and long service with which they had served them; see the exact fulfilment of prophecy, ( Exodus 11:2 Exodus 11:3 ) ( Exodus 12:35 Exodus 12:36 ) ( Psalms 105:37 ) .

Genesis 15:14 In-Context

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

Cross References 2

  • 1. Genesis 50:24; Exodus 3:8; Exodus 6:6-8; Exodus 12:25; Numbers 10:29; Joshua 1:2; Acts 7:7*
  • 2. Exodus 12:32-38
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