1. After these things the Lord’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
2. Abram said, “Lord the Lord, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3. Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
4. Behold, the Lord’s word came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but he who will come out of your own body will be your heir.”
5. The Lord brought him outside, and said, “Look now towards the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So will your offspring be.”
6. He believed in the Lord, who credited it to him for righteousness.
7. He said to Abram, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur-Kasdim, to give you this land to inherit it.”
8. He said, “Lord GOD, how will I know that I will inherit 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. He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds.
11. The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.