Genesis 15:1-21
The Cutting of the Covenant
15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram! I am your shield and the one who will reward you in great abundance.”
15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, what will you give me since I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus?”
15:3 Abram added, “Since you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”
15:4 But look, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but instead a son who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
15:5 The Lord took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord considered his response of faith as proof of genuine loyalty.
15:7 The Lord said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
15:8 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, by what can I know that I am to possess it?”
15:9 The Lord said to him, “Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
15:10 So Abram took all these for him and then cut them in two and placed each half opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half.
15:11 When birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
15:12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, and great terror overwhelmed him.
15:13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign country. They will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.
15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. Afterward they will come out with many possessions.
15:15 But as for you, you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.
15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.”
15:17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts.
15:18 That day the Lord made a covenant with Abram: “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River –
15:19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,
15:20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,
15:21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”
Genesis 22:1
The Sacrifice of Isaac
22:1 Some time after these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am!” Abraham replied.
Genesis 48:11
48:11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected
to see you
again, but now God has allowed me to see your children
too.”
Genesis 48:2
48:2 When Jacob was told,
“Your son Joseph has just
come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed.
Genesis 23:8-9
23:8 Then he said to them, “If you agree
that I may bury my dead,
then hear me out.
Ask
Ephron the son of Zohar
23:9 if he will sell
me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me publicly
for the full price,
so that I may own it as a burial site.”
Genesis 23:2
23:2 Then she
died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.
Genesis 29:4-5
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.”
29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson of Nahor?” “We know him,” they said.
Nehemiah 9:34
9:34 Our kings, our leaders, our priests, and our ancestors have not kept your law. They have not paid attention to your commandments or your testimonies by which you have solemnly admonished them.
Jeremiah 23:11
23:11 Moreover, the Lord says,
“Both the prophets and priests are godless.
I have even found them doing evil in my temple!
Zephaniah 3:4
3:4 Her prophets are proud;
they are deceitful men.
Her priests defile what is holy;
they break God’s laws.
Zephaniah 3:1
Jerusalem is Corrupt
3:1 The filthy, stained city is as good as dead;
the city filled with oppressors is finished!
Zephaniah 1:1
Introduction
1:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah: