New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, 1993

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Genesis Chapter 15 (NRSVCE)

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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.”

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?” [1]

³ And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.”

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.”

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.”

⁶ And he believed the LORD; and the LORD [2] reckoned it to him 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.”

⁸ But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

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.”

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.

¹¹ And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

¹³ Then the LORD [3] 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;

¹⁴ but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

¹⁵ As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.

¹⁶ And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

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,

¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

²² David said to Ittai, “Go then, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

²³ The whole country wept aloud as all the people passed by; the king crossed the Wadi Kidron, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.

²⁴ Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, until the people had all passed out of the city.

²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and the place where it stays.

²⁶ But if he says, ‘I take no pleasure in you,’ here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”

²⁷ The king also said to the priest Zadok, “Look, [5] go back to the city in peace, you and Abiathar, [6] with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar.

²⁸ See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”

²⁹ So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.

³⁰ But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

³¹ David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, “O LORD, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”

³² When David came to the summit, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head.

³³ David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.

³⁴ But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.

³⁵ The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.

³⁶ Their two sons are with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan; and by them you shall report to me everything you hear.”

³⁷ So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

#	NRSVCE
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.”
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?” [1]
3	And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.”
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.”
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.”
6	And he believed the LORD; and the LORD [2] reckoned it to him 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.”
8	But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
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.”
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.
11	And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12	As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.
13	Then the LORD [3] 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;
14	but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
15	As for yourself, you shall go to your ancestors in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
16	And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
17	When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
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,
19	the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20	the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21	the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
22	David said to Ittai, “Go then, march on.” So Ittai the Gittite marched on, with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.
23	The whole country wept aloud as all the people passed by; the king crossed the Wadi Kidron, and all the people moved on toward the wilderness.
24	Abiathar came up, and Zadok also, with all the Levites, carrying the ark of the covenant of God. They set down the ark of God, until the people had all passed out of the city.
25	Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and the place where it stays.
26	But if he says, ‘I take no pleasure in you,’ here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”
27	The king also said to the priest Zadok, “Look, [5] go back to the city in peace, you and Abiathar, [6] with your two sons, Ahimaaz your son, and Jonathan son of Abiathar.
28	See, I will wait at the fords of the wilderness until word comes from you to inform me.”
29	So Zadok and Abiathar carried the ark of God back to Jerusalem, and they remained there.
30	But David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot; and all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
31	David was told that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, “O LORD, I pray you, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.”
32	When David came to the summit, where God was worshiped, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat torn and earth on his head.
33	David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me.
34	But if you return to the city and say to Absalom, ‘I will be your servant, O king; as I have been your father’s servant in time past, so now I will be your servant,’ then you will defeat for me the counsel of Ahithophel.
35	The priests Zadok and Abiathar will be with you there. So whatever you hear from the king’s house, tell it to the priests Zadok and Abiathar.
36	Their two sons are with them there, Zadok’s son Ahimaaz and Abiathar’s son Jonathan; and by them you shall report to me everything you hear.”
37	So Hushai, David’s friend, came into the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

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