Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” New Living Translation After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” English Standard Version And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Berean Standard Bible In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” King James Bible But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. New King James Version But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” New American Standard Bible Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete.” NASB 1995 “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” NASB 1977 “Then in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” Legacy Standard Bible Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” Amplified Bible Then in the fourth generation your descendants shall return here [to Canaan, the land of promise], for the wickedness and guilt of the Amorites is not yet complete (finished).” Christian Standard Bible In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” Holman Christian Standard Bible In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” American Standard Version And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. Contemporary English Version Four generations later, your descendants will return here and take this land, because only then will the people who live here be so sinful that they deserve to be punished. English Revised Version And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full. GOD'S WORD® Translation In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, because the sin of the Amorites will not have run its course until then." Good News Translation It will be four generations before your descendants come back here, because I will not drive out the Amorites until they become so wicked that they must be punished." International Standard Version Your descendants will return here in the fourth generation, since the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet run its course." Majority Standard Bible In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.? NET Bible In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its limit." New Heart English Bible In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." Webster's Bible Translation But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. World English Bible In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.” Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionand the fourth generation turns back here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.” Young's Literal Translation and the fourth generation doth turn back hither, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.' Smith's Literal Translation And the fourth generation they shall turn back hither: for the crime of the Amorite has not been completed till now. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleBut in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not at the full until this present time. Catholic Public Domain Version But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time.” New American Bible In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the wickedness of the Amorites is not yet complete. New Revised Standard Version And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd after four centuries, they shall return here; for the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet full. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And in the fourth age they shall return here, because the debts of the Amorites are not yet fulfilled. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.' Brenton Septuagint Translation And in the fourth generation they shall return hither, for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up, even until now. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context God Confirms His Promise…15You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age. 16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.… Cross References Exodus 12:40-41 Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years. / At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD’s divisions went out of the land of Egypt. Leviticus 18:24-28 Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves. / Even the land has become defiled, so I am punishing it for its sin, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants. / But you are to keep My statutes and ordinances, and you must not commit any of these abominations—neither your native-born nor the foreigner who lives among you. ... Deuteronomy 9:4-5 When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness. / It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Acts 7:6-7 God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. / ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’ Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. Galatians 3:17 What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise. Hebrews 11:9-10 By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. / For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 1 Kings 21:26 He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.) 2 Kings 21:11 “Since Manasseh king of Judah has committed all these abominations, acting more wickedly than the Amorites who preceded him, and with his idols has caused Judah to sin, Nehemiah 9:8 You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites and Hittites, of the Amorites and Perizzites, of the Jebusites and Girgashites—to give it to his descendants. You have kept Your promise, because You are righteous. Jeremiah 25:12 But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation. Ezekiel 20:9-10 But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the eyes of the nations among whom they were living, in whose sight I had revealed Myself to Israel by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. / So I brought them out of the land of Egypt and led them into the wilderness. Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to stop their transgression, to put an end to sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Matthew 23:32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. Luke 21:24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Treasury of Scripture But in the fourth generation they shall come here again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. in the. Exodus 12:40 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. Amorites. 1 Kings 21:26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 2 Peter 3:8,9 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day… not. Daniel 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. Zechariah 5:5-11 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth… Matthew 23:32-35 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers… Jump to Previous Amorite Amorites Complete Descendants Fourth Full Generation Hither Iniquity Measure Present Reached Sin TurnJump to Next Amorite Amorites Complete Descendants Fourth Full Generation Hither Iniquity Measure Present Reached Sin TurnGenesis 15 1. God encourages Abram, who asks for an heir.4. God promises him a son, and a multiplying of his seed. 6. Abram is justified by faith. 7. Canaan is promised again, 9. and confirmed by a sign, and a vision, 18. prophetic of the condition of his posterity till brought out of Egypt. In the fourth generation This phrase indicates a specific time frame in which God’s promise to Abram will be fulfilled. The "fourth generation" can be understood as a period of approximately 400 years, as seen in the broader context of Genesis 15:13, where God tells Abram that his descendants will be strangers in a land not their own and will be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. This aligns with the Israelites' time in Egypt before the Exodus. The use of "generation" here reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of a generation as roughly 100 years. your descendants will return here for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete Persons / Places / Events 1. Abram (Abraham)The central figure in this passage, Abram is receiving a covenant promise from God regarding his descendants and their future. 2. The Amorites A group of people living in Canaan, whose iniquity is mentioned as not yet complete, indicating a future judgment. 3. Canaan The land promised to Abram's descendants, which they will inherit after a period of time. 4. The Fourth Generation Refers to the time frame in which Abram's descendants will return to Canaan, indicating a period of waiting and fulfillment of God's promise. 5. God's Covenant The broader context of this passage is God's covenant with Abram, promising him numerous descendants and land. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty and TimingGod's plans unfold according to His perfect timing, even if it requires patience and waiting on our part. The Justice of God God's delay in judgment on the Amorites shows His justice and patience, giving them time to repent. Faith in God's Promises Like Abram, believers are called to trust in God's promises, even when fulfillment seems distant. Generational Impact Our actions and faith can have lasting impacts on future generations, as seen in the promise to Abram's descendants. Understanding God's Patience Recognizing that God's patience with sin is an opportunity for repentance, both for individuals and nations.(16) The fourth generation.--Heb., dor. (See Note on Genesis 6:9.) As the four generations are identical with the four centuries of Genesis 15:13, we have here an undesigned testimony to the long duration of human life. So Abram was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Isaac was 60 at the birth of his children, and Jacob 64 years of age at his marriage. But the word dor had probably come down from a remote antiquity, and, like the Latin word seculum, signified a century. The iniquity of the Amorites.--As the chief and leading tribe, they are used here for all the Canaanite nations. We learn from this declaration that the Canaanites were not extirpated by any wilful decree to make room for Israel, but as an act of justice, like that which, because of their moral depravity, overwhelmed the Sethites with a flood. So, subsequently, Israel and Judah had each to bear a punishment in accordance with their sinfulness; and so, throughout the history of the world, whenever nations settle down in vice and corruption, the decay of their institutions follows upon that of their morals, and they either waste away or give place to some more manly race of conquerors. The conquest of Canaan by Israel was parallel to that of the enervated Roman empire of the West by the Germans; only we see the preparation for it. and God's purpose explained; and we also see that if the Amorites had not made the scale of justice weigh down heavily, they would not have been deprived of their country. Verse 16. - But in the fourth generation, - τετάρτη δὲ γενεᾷ (LXX.); but, more correctly, the fourth generation, calculating 100 years to a generation. "Caleb was the fourth from Judah, and Moses from Levi, and so doubtless many others" (Bush). Drs. Oort and Kuenen, reckoning four generations as a far shorter space of time than four centuries, detect a contradiction between this verse and Ver. 13, and an evidence of the free use which the ancient and uncritical Israelitish author made of his materials ('Bible for Young People,' vol. 1. p. 158). On the import of דּור vide Genesis 6:9 - they shall come hither again (literally, shall return hither): for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. Literally, for not completed the iniquity of the Amorites (vide Genesis 14:7; here put for the entire population! until then (the same word as "hither, which is its usual signification).Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew In the fourthרְבִיעִ֖י (rə·ḇî·‘î) Number - ordinal masculine singular Strong's 7243: Fourth, a fourth generation וְד֥וֹר (wə·ḏō·wr) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1755: A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwelling [your descendants] will return יָשׁ֣וּבוּ (yā·šū·ḇū) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again here, הֵ֑נָּה (hên·nāh) Adverb Strong's 2008: Hither, thither for כִּ֧י (kî) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction the iniquity עֲוֺ֥ן (‘ă·wōn) Noun - common singular construct Strong's 5771: Iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity of the Amorites הָאֱמֹרִ֖י (hā·’ĕ·mō·rî) Article | Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 567: Amorites -- perhaps 'mountain dwellers', a Canaanite tribe [is] not לֹא־ (lō-) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no yet עַד־ (‘aḏ-) Preposition Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while complete.” שָׁלֵ֛ם (šā·lêm) Adjective - masculine singular Strong's 8003: Complete, safe, at peace Links Genesis 15:16 NIVGenesis 15:16 NLT Genesis 15:16 ESV Genesis 15:16 NASB Genesis 15:16 KJV Genesis 15:16 BibleApps.com Genesis 15:16 Biblia Paralela Genesis 15:16 Chinese Bible Genesis 15:16 French Bible Genesis 15:16 Catholic Bible OT Law: Genesis 15:16 In the fourth generation they will come (Gen. 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