God Makes a Covenant With Abram

15 Some time later, Abram had a vision. The Lord said to him,

² But Abram said, “Lord and King, what can you give me? I still don’t have any children. My servant Eliezer comes from Damascus. When I die, he will get everything I own.” ³ Abram continued, “You haven’t given me any children. So this servant of mine will get everything I own.”

⁴ Then a message from the Lord came to Abram. The Lord said, “When you die, what you have will not go to this man. You will have a son of your own. He will get everything you have.” 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’s how many children will be born into your family.”

⁶ Abram believed the Lord. The Lord was pleased with Abram because he believed. So Abram’s faith made him right with the Lord.

⁷ He also said to Abram, “I am the Lord. I brought you out of Ur in the land of Babylon. I will give you this land to have as your very own.”

⁸ But Abram said, “Lord and King, how can I know I will have this land as my own?”

⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a young cow, a goat and a ram. Each 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 and placed the halves opposite each other. But he didn’t cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Then large birds came down to eat the dead bodies of the animals and birds. But Abram chased the large birds away.

¹² As the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep. A thick and scary darkness covered him.

¹⁷ The sun set and it became dark. Then a burning torch and a pot filled with smoking coals appeared. They passed between the pieces of the animals that had been cut in two. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram. He said, “I am giving this land to your family who comes after you. It reaches from the River of Egypt to the great Euphrates River.