₁After this, Abram had a vision and heard the LORD say to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward.”

₂But Abram answered, “Sovereign LORD, what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus. ₃You have given me no children, and one of my slaves will inherit my property.”

₄Then he heard the LORD speaking to him again: “This slave Eliezer will not inherit your property; your own son will be your heir.” ₅The LORD took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and try to count the stars; you will have as many descendants as that.”

₆Abram put his trust in the LORD, and because of this the LORD was pleased with him and accepted him.

₇Then the LORD said to him, “I am the LORD, who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own.”

₈But Abram asked, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that it will be mine?”

₉He answered, “Bring me a cow, a goat, and a ram, each of them three years old, and a dove and a pigeon.” ₁₀Abram brought the animals to God, cut them in half, and placed the halves opposite each other in two rows; but he did not cut up the birds. ₁₁Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off.

₁₂When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him.

₁₇When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire-pot and a flaming torch suddenly appeared and passed between the pieces of the animals. ₁₈Then and there the LORD made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I promise to give your descendants all this land from the border of Egypt to the River Euphrates,