God’s Covenant with Abram^(A)

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram ^(B)in a vision, saying, ^(C)“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your ^(D)shield, ^[a]your exceedingly ^(E)great reward.”

^2 (F)But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, ^(G)seeing I ^[b]go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed ^(H)one^[c] born in my house is my heir!”

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who ^(I)will come from your own body shall be your heir.” ⁵ Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and ^(J)count the ^(K)stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, ^(L)“So shall your ^(M)descendants be.”

⁶ And he ^(N)believed in the Lord, and He ^(O)accounted it to him for righteousness.

⁷ Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who ^(P)brought you out of ^(Q)Ur of the Chaldeans, ^(R)to give you this land to inherit it.”

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, ^(S)how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

⁹ So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ Then he brought all these to Him and ^(T)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut ^(U)the birds in two. ¹¹ And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² Now when the sun was going down, ^(V)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.

¹⁷ And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that ^(A)passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord ^(B)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

^(C)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—

An Exuberant Declaration of Faith

A Psalm of David.

Our Citizenship in Heaven

¹⁷ Brethren, ^(A)join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as ^(B)you have us for a pattern. ¹⁸ For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are ^(C)the enemies of the cross of Christ: ^19 (D)whose end is destruction, ^(E)whose god is their belly, and ^(F)whose glory is in their shame—^(G)who set their mind on earthly things. ²⁰ For ^(H)our citizenship is in heaven, ^(I)from which we also ^(J)eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ^21 (K)who will transform our lowly body that it may be ^(L)conformed to His glorious body, ^(M)according to the working by which He is able even to ^(N)subdue all things to Himself.

Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts

4 Therefore, my beloved and ^(O)longed-for brethren, ^(P)my joy and crown, so ^(Q)stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

^31 [a]On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

³² And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(A)I shall be ^[b]perfected.’ ³³ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus Laments over Jerusalem^(B)

^34 (C)“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! ³⁵ See! ^(D)Your house is left to you desolate; and ^[c]assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ^(E)‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”