New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
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After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your reward.
2 But Abram said, "O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
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And Abram said, What will you give me? for I have no child and this Eliezer of Damascus will have all my wealth after me.
3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir."
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And Abram said, You have given me no child, and a servant in my house will get the heritage.
4 But the word of the Lord came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir."
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Then said the Lord, This man will not get the heritage, but a son of your body will have your property after you.
5 He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
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And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.
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And he had faith in the Lord, and it was put to his account as righteousness.
7 Then he said to him, "I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess."
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And he said to him, I am the Lord, who took you from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land for your heritage.
8 But he said, "O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
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And he said, O Lord God, how may I be certain that it will be mine?
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."
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And he said, Take a young cow of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a sheep of three years old, and a dove and a young pigeon.
10 He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.
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All these he took, cutting them in two and putting one half opposite the other, but not cutting the birds in two.
11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
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And evil birds came down on the bodies, but Abram sent them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
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Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep came on Abram, and a dark cloud of fear.
13 Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years;
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And he said to Abram, Truly, your seed will be living in a land which is not theirs, as servants to a people who will be cruel to them for four hundred years;
14 but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
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But I will be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth.
15 As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
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As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace; at the end of a long life you will be put in your last resting-place.
16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete."
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And in the fourth generation they will come back here; for at present the sin of the Amorite is not full.
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
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Then when the sun went down and it was dark, he saw a smoking fire and a flaming light which went between the parts of the bodies.
18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
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In that day the Lord made an agreement with Abram, and said, To your seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
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The Kenite, the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,
20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
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And the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites."
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And the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.