The Abrahamic Covenant

15 After these events, the word of the Lord came^(A) to Abram in a vision:

your reward will be very great.

² But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ^{[a] 3} Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in^[b] my house will be my heir.”

⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body^[c] will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”^(D)

⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.^(E)

⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”^(F)

⁸ But he said, “Lord God, how can I know^(G) that I will possess it?”

⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ So he brought all these to him, cut them in half, and laid the pieces opposite each other, but he did not cut the birds^(H) in half. ¹¹ Birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. ¹² As the sun was setting, a deep sleep^(I) came over Abram, and suddenly great terror and darkness descended on him.

¹⁷ When the sun had set and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch appeared and passed between the divided animals. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring,^(A) from the Brook of Egypt^(B) to the great river, the Euphrates River:

Jesus and Herod Antipas

³¹ At that time some Pharisees came and told him, “Go, get out of here. Herod^(A) wants to kill you.”^(B)

³² He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m driving out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.’^{[a](C) 33} Yet it is necessary that I^(D) travel today, tomorrow, and the next day, because it is not possible for a prophet^(E) to perish^(F) outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus’s Lamentation over Jerusalem

³⁴ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,^(G) who kills the prophets and stones^(H) those who are sent to her.^(I) How often I wanted to gather your children^(J) together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,^(K) but you were not willing!^{(L) 35} See, your house is abandoned to you.^(M) I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when^[b] you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’!”^[c](N)