4. Then a message came to Abram from the Lord. He said, "This man will not get what belongs to you. A son will come from your own body. He will get everything you own."
5. The Lord took Abram outside and said, "Look up at the sky. Count the stars, if you can." Then he said to him, "That is how many children you will have."
6. Abram believed the Lord. The Lord accepted Abram because he believed. So his faith made him right with the Lord.
7. He also said to Abram, "I am the Lord. I brought you out of Ur in Babylonia. I wanted to give you this land to take as your very own."
8. But Abram said, "Lord and King, how can I know I will take this land as my own?"
9. So the Lord said to him, "Bring me a young cow. Also bring a goat and a ram. All of them must be three years old. Bring a dove and a young pigeon along with them."
10. Abram brought all of them to the Lord. Abram cut them in two. He placed the halves opposite each other. But he didn't cut the birds in half.