Genesis 15:14-16

15:14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve. ¹  Afterward they will come out with many possessions. 15:15 But as for you, ²  you will go to your ancestors ³  in peace and be buried at a good old age. ⁴  15:16 In the fourth generation ⁵  your descendants ⁶  will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit.” ⁷ 

[15:14]  ¹ tn The participle דָּן (dan, from דִּין, din) is used here for the future: “I am judging” = “I will surely judge.” The judgment in this case will be condemnation and punishment. The translation “execute judgment on” implies that the judgment will certainly be carried out.

[15:15]  ² tn The vav with the pronoun before the verb calls special attention to the subject in contrast to the preceding subject.

[15:15]  ³ sn You will go to your ancestors. This is a euphemistic expression for death.

[15:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “in a good old age.”

[15:16]  ⁵ sn The term generation is being used here in its widest sense to refer to a full life span. When the chronological factors are considered and the genealogies tabulated, there are four hundred years of bondage. This suggests that in this context a generation is equivalent to one hundred years.

[15:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (“your descendants”) has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[15:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “is not yet complete.”