^15:2But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord,³ what will you give me since⁴ I continue to be⁵ childless, and my heir⁶ is⁷ Eliezer of Damascus?”⁸^15:3Abram added,⁹ “Since¹⁰ you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!”¹¹

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Footnotes

3 The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”
4 The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.
5 Heb “I am going.”
6 Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.” For the custom of designating a member of the household as heir, see C. H. Gordon, “Biblical Customs and the Nuzu Tablets,” Biblical Archaeologist Reader, 2:21–33.
7 The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).
8 The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2–3,” 72 (1953): 49–50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” 200 (1970): 31–32.
9 Heb “And Abram said.”
10 The construction uses הֵן (hen) to introduce the foundational clause (“since …”), and וְהִנֵּה (véhinneh) to introduce the main clause (“then look …”).
11 Heb “is inheriting me.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.”

NLTNew Living Translation

But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Then Abram said, “O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus.” And Abram said, “Look, you have not given me a descendant, and here, a member of my household is my heir.”

KJV 1900King James Version

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.

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