Genesis 15:12-14
New English Translation
12 When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep,[a] and great terror overwhelmed him.[b] 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain[c] that your descendants will be strangers[d] in a foreign country.[e] They will be enslaved and oppressed[f] for 400 years. 14 But I will execute judgment on the nation that they will serve.[g] Afterward they will come out with many possessions.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 15:12 tn Heb “a deep sleep fell on Abram.”
- Genesis 15:12 tn Heb “and look, terror, a great darkness was falling on him.”
- Genesis 15:13 tn The Hebrew construction is emphatic, with the Qal infinitive absolute followed by the imperfect from יָדַע (yadaʿ, “know”). The imperfect here has an obligatory or imperatival force.
- Genesis 15:13 tn The Hebrew word גֵּר (ger, “sojourner, stranger”) is related to the verb גּוּר (gur, “to sojourn, to stay for awhile”). Abram’s descendants will stay in a land as resident foreigners without rights of citizenship.
- Genesis 15:13 tn Heb “in a land not theirs.”
- Genesis 15:13 tn Heb “and they will serve them and they will oppress them.” The verb עִנּוּ, (ʾinnu, a Piel form from עָנָה, ʾanah, “to afflict, to oppress, to treat harshly”), is used in Exod 1:11 to describe the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt.
- Genesis 15:14 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.
Genesis 15:12-14
New International Version
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,(A) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years(B) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved(C) and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out(D) with great possessions.(E)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.