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these events had taken place, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:
“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward.”
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what can You give me, since I remain childless and the heir of my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring, so a servant born in my household will be my heir.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not by your heir, but one who will come from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
8 But Abram said, “O Lord God, how can I know that I will possess it.”
9 So the Lord 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 Abram brought all these to Him, cut them in two, and laid each piece opposite the other; however he did not cut up the birds. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and a thick and terrifying darkness descended on him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your descendants will be strangers in a country that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and oppressed there four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation they serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 As for yourself, you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot with a flaming torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenezzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaim, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”