¹³And he said to Abram, “You must surely know^k that your descendants shall be as aliens in a land not their own.^l And they shall serve them^m and theyⁿ shall oppress them four hundred years. ¹⁴And also the nation that they^o serve I will judge. Then^p afterward they shall go out with great possessions. ¹⁵And as for you, you shall go to your ancestors^q in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶And the fourth generation shall return here, for the guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete.”^r

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Footnotes

kLiterally “knowing you must know”
lLiterally “not to them”
mSome nation hostile to Abram’s descendants (Egypt in later history)
nSome nation hostile to Abram’s descendants (Egypt in later history)
oThat is, Abram’s descendants
pOr “And”
qOr “fathers”
rLiterally “is not complete up to now”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain: Your offspring will be resident aliens for four hundred years in a land that does not belong to them and will be enslaved and oppressed. However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterward they will go out with many possessions. But you will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then the Lord said to Abram, “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

KJV 1900King James Version

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 in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

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