Genesis 15:13

¹¹ And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.

Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

¹⁴ But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.

¹⁵ You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
KJV: 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;
WEB: He said to Abram, “Know for sure that your offspring will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.
ASV: And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be sojourners in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
DARBY: And he said to Abram, Know assuredly that thy seed will be a sojourner in a land [that is] not theirs, and they shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years.
BLB: And He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your seed will be a sojourner in a land not theirs, and they will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.

ÅB: Og han sa til Abram: Det skal du vite, at dine etterkommere skal bo som fremmede i et land som ikke hører dem til, og de skal slave for folket der og plages av dem i fire hundre år.
OTB: Da sa Herren til Abram: «Vit for visst at dine etterkommere skal være fremmede i et land som ikke er deres eget, hvor de skal bli slaver og undertrykt i fire hundre år.
B1930: Og han sa til Abram: Det skal du vite, at din ætt skal bo som fremmede i et land som ikke hører dem til, og de skal træle for folket der og plages av dem i fire hundre år.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

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.
Read in context
Exodus 1:11
So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
Read in context
Exodus 12:40–41
Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.
Read in context
Acts 7:17
As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.
Read in context
Exodus 1:1–2
These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family:
Read in context
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.
Read in context
Leviticus 19:34
You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
Read in context
Genesis 17:8
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
Read in context