The Lord's Promise to Abram

15 Later the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision, “Abram, don't be afraid! I will protect you and reward you greatly.”

² But Abram answered, “Lord All-Powerful, you have given me everything I could ask for, except children. And when I die, Eliezer of Damascus will get all I own.^{[a] 3} You have not given me any children, and this servant of mine will inherit everything.”

⁴ The Lord replied, “No, he won't! You will have a son of your own, and everything you have will be his.” ^5 (A) Then the Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and see if you can count the stars. That's how many descendants you will have.” ^6 (B) Abram believed the Lord, so the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.

The Lord Makes Another Promise to Abram

⁷ The Lord said to Abram, “I brought you here from Ur in Chaldea, and I gave you this land.”

⁸ Abram asked, “Lord God, how can I know the land will be mine?”

⁹ Then the Lord told him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a dove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram obeyed the Lord. Then he cut^[b] the animals in half and laid the two halves of each animal opposite each other on the ground. But he did not cut the doves and pigeons in half. ¹¹ And when birds came down to eat the animals, Abram chased them away.

^12 (C) As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and everything became dark and frightening.

¹⁷ Sometime after sunset, when it was very dark, a smoking cooking pot^[a] and a flaming fire passed between the two halves of each animal. ^18 (A) At that time the Lord made an agreement with Abram and told him:

I will give your descendants the land east of the Shihor River^[b] on the border of Egypt as far as the Euphrates River.