After these things ^athe word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,“^bDo not fear, Abram,I am ^ca shield to you;¹Your ^dreward shall be very great.” 2 Abram said, “O Lord ¹GOD, what will You give me, since I ²am childless, and the ³heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “¹Since You have given no ²offspring to me, ³one ^aborn in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; ^abut one who will come forth from your own ¹body, he shall be your heir.” 5 And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and ^acount the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “^bSo shall your ¹descendants be.” 6 ^aThen he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 And He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out of ^aUr of the Chaldeans, to ^bgive you this land to ¹possess it.” 8 He said, “O Lord ¹GOD, ^ahow may I know that I will ²possess it?” 9 So He said to him, “¹Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 Then he ¹brought all these to Him and ^acut them ²in two, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^bdid not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

12 Now when the sun was going down, ^aa deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, ¹terror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 God said to Abram, “Know for certain that ^ayour ¹descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, ²where ^bthey will be enslaved and oppressed ^cfour hundred years. 14 But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out ^awith ¹many possessions. 15 As for you, ^ayou shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in ^athe fourth generation they will return here, for ^bthe iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”

17 It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which ^apassed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying,“^aTo your ¹descendants I have given this land,From ^bthe river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 ^athe Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite 20 and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim 21 and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”

After these things ^athe word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying,“^bDo not be afraid, Abram,I am your ^cshield;Your ^dreward for obedience shall be very great.” 2 Abram said, “Lord ¹GOD, what reward will You give me, since I am leaving this world childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this servant Eliezer from Damascus?” 3 And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) ^aborn in my house is my heir.” 4 Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This man Eliezer will not be your heir ^abut he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 And the LORD brought Abram outside his tent into the night and said, “Look now toward the heavens and ^acount the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “^bSo numerous shall your descendants be.” Heb 11:12 6 ^aThen Abram believed in (affirmed, trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the LORD; and He counted (credited) it to him ¹as righteousness (doing right in regard to God and man) . Rom 4:3, 18-22; Gal 3:6; James 2:23 7 And He said to him, “I am the same LORD who brought you out of ^aUr of the Chaldeans, to ^bgive you this land as an inheritance.” 8 But Abram said, “Lord ¹GOD, ^aby what proof will I know that I will inherit it?” 9 So God said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 So Abram brought all these to Him and ^1acut them down the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he ^bdid not cut the birds. 11 The birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 When the sun was setting, ^aa deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him. 13 God said to Abram, “Know for sure that ^ayour descendants will be strangers living temporarily in a land (Egypt) that is not theirs, where ^bthey will be enslaved and oppressed for ^cfour hundred years. Ex 12:40 14 But on that nation whom your descendants will serve I will bring judgment, and afterward they will come out of that land ^awith great possessions. Ex 12:35, 36; Acts 7:6, 7 15 As for you, ^ayou shall die and go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 Then in ^athe ¹fourth generation your descendants shall return here to Canaan, the land of promise, for ^bthe wickedness and guilt of the ²Amorites is not yet complete (finished) .” Josh 24:15

17 When the sun had gone down and a deep darkness had come, there appeared a smoking ¹brazier and a flaming torch which ^apassed between the divided pieces of the animals. Jer 34:18, 19 18 On the same day the LORD made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying,“^aTo your descendants I have given this land,From ^bthe river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates— 19 the land of ^athe Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites 20 and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”