⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord,^(A) how can I know^(B) that I will gain possession of it?”^(C)

⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer,^(D) a goat and a ram, each three years old,^(E) along with a dove and a young pigeon.^(F)”

¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other;^(G) the birds, however, he did not cut in half.^{(H) 11} Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses,^(I) but Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep,^(J) and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years^(K) your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved^(L) and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out^(M) with great possessions.^{(N) 15} You, however, will go to your ancestors^(O) in peace and be buried at a good old age.^{(P) 16} In the fourth generation^(Q) your descendants will come back here,^(R) for the sin of the Amorites^(S) has not yet reached its full measure.”

¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch^(T) appeared and passed between the pieces.^{(U) 18} On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram^(V) and said, “To your descendants I give this land,^(W) from the Wadi^[a] of Egypt^(X) to the great river, the Euphrates^(Y)— ¹⁹ the land of the Kenites,^(Z) Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites,^(AA) Perizzites,^(AB) Rephaites,^{(AC) 21} Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”^(AD)

⁷ I will establish my covenant^(A) as an everlasting covenant^(B) between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God^(C) and the God of your descendants after you.^{(D) 8} The whole land of Canaan,^(E) where you now reside as a foreigner,^(F) I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you;^(G) and I will be their God.^(H)”

¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(A) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

¹¹ In that day^(A) the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant^(B) of his people from Assyria,^(C) from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt,^(D) from Cush,^[a](E) from Elam,^(F) from Babylonia,^[b] from Hamath^(G) and from the islands^(H) of the Mediterranean.^(I)