God's Covenant with Abram
1
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: 1"Fear not, Abram, I am 2your shield; your reward shall be very great."
2
But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continuea childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
3
And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and 3a member of my household will be my heir."
4
And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: "This man shall not be your heir; 4your very own sonb shall be your heir."
5
And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and 5number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, 6"So shall your offspring be."
7
And he said to him, "I am the LORD who 9brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans 10to give you this land to possess."
8
But he said, "O Lord GOD, 11how am I to know that I shall possess it?"
9
He said to him, "Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
10
And he brought him all these, 12cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But 13he did not cut the birds in half.
11
And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12
As the sun was going down, a 14deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
13
Then the LORD said to Abram, "Know for certain 15that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and 16they will be afflicted for 17four hundred years.
14
But 18I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward 19they shall come out with great possessions.
15
As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in peace; 20you shall be buried in a good old age.
16
And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for 21the iniquity of the Amorites 22is not yet complete."
17
When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, 23"To your offspring I givec this land, from 24the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
19
the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
20
the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)