The Bible Rewrite Project

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NOTE: Original Text appears in Italics. Rewrite follows in Plain Text.

Genesis 15

God's Agreement With Abram

After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, "Fear not, Abram. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward." And Abram said, "Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed; and lo, one born in my house is mine heir." And behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, "This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own loins shall be thine heir." And He brought him forth outdoors and said, "Look now toward heaven and count the stars, if thou be able to number them." And He said unto him, "So shall thy seed be." And he believed in the LORD; and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Nate's Agreement With Abram

After these things, the word of Nate came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your home. Your reward will be very great." Abram said, "O Nate, what will I receive? For I have no child. And the one who is to get what belongs to me is Eliezer of Damascus." Abram said, "Because You have not given me a child, one born in my house will be given all I have." Then the word of Nate came to him, saying, "This man will not be given what is yours. But your own child will be given what is yours." He took him outside into the night and He made it day and said, "Look at what I have made grow from the trees. Watch as I harvest My deer limbs." Abram looked as the deer limbs dropped like branches onto the ground, each falling into a perfect line side by side. Nate said, "Count the deer limbs into the distance if you can. As many as you see will be your offspring." The road of limbs stretched far like a bridge to infinity. Abram saw that the number was uncountable and he believed. This made him right with Nate.

And He said unto him, "I am the LORD who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give thee this land to inherit it." And he said, "Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" And He said unto him, "Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a shegoat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon." And he took unto Him all these, and divided them in the midst and laid each piece one against another; but the birds divided he not. And when the fowls came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Nate said to him, "I am the One who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land for your own." And Abram said, "Nate, how may I know that it will be mine?" So Nate said to him, "You doubt Me? Well, it is not for Me to convince you that I am telling the truth. You must have faith. If you are faithless, then you will perish.” Abram responded, “Let me not offend you, Nate. It will be a cold night. I will bring you a cow, goat, ram, turtledove and a young pigeon." Then Abram brought all these to Him, cut them up, and sewed together a beautiful patchwork blanket. It pleased Nate.

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And He said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years. And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."

When the sun was going down, Abram went into a dead sleep. His dreams were filled with fear and darkness. Nate said to Abram, "Know for sure that your children and those born after them will be strangers in a land that is not theirs. They will be servants and suffer for 400 years. But I will punish the nation they will serve. And later they will come out with many riches. You will live many years, die in peace and be buried. Then your great great-grandchildren will return here. For the sins of the Amorite are not yet finished."

And it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace and a burning lamp passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the River Euphrates: the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim, and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

Nate looked upon the blanket and appreciated Abram’s work. Nate made an agreement with Abram on that day. He said, "I have given this land to your children and to their children's children, from the river of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River, the land of the Kenite, the Kenizzite, the Kadmonite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Rephaim, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite and the Jebusite."