15 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your ^[a]Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great.

² And Abram said, Lord God, what can You give me, since I am going on [from this world] childless and he who shall be the owner and heir of my house is this [steward] Eliezer of Damascus?

³ And Abram continued, Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir.

⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.

⁵ And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be.^(A)

⁶ And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God).^(B)

⁷ And He said to him, I am the [same] Lord, Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land as an inheritance.

⁸ But he [Abram] said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?

⁹ And He said to him, Bring to Me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

¹⁰ And he brought Him all these and cut them down the middle [into halves] and laid each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide.

¹¹ And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror (a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him.

¹³ And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted and oppressed for 400 years. [Fulfilled in Exod. 12:40.]

¹⁴ But I will bring judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.^(C)

¹⁵ And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old (hoary) age.

¹⁶ And in the ^[b]fourth generation they [your descendants] shall come back here [to Canaan] again, for the iniquity of the ^[c]Amorites is not yet full and complete.^(D)

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and a [thick] darkness had come on, behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between those pieces.

¹⁸ On the same day the Lord made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—the land of

¹⁹ The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

²⁰ The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

²¹ The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, I am the Almighty God; walk and live habitually before Me and be perfect (blameless, wholehearted, complete).

² And I will make My covenant (solemn pledge) between Me and you and will multiply you exceedingly.

³ Then Abram fell on his face, and God said to him,

⁴ As for Me, behold, My covenant (solemn pledge) is with you, and you shall be the father of many nations.

⁵ Nor shall your name any longer be Abram [high, exalted father]; but your name shall be Abraham [father of a multitude], for I have made you the father of many nations.

⁶ And I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you, and ^[a]kings will come from you.

⁷ And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting, solemn pledge, to be a God to you and to your posterity after you.^(A)

⁸ And I will give to you and to your posterity after you the land in which you are a stranger [going from place to place], all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.^(B)

⁹ And God said to Abraham, As for you, you shall therefore keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

¹⁰ This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your posterity after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

¹¹ And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token or sign of the covenant (the promise or pledge) between Me and you.

¹² He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male throughout your generations, whether born in [your] house or bought with [your] money from any foreigner not of your offspring.

¹³ He that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money must be circumcised; and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

¹⁴ And the male who is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.

¹⁵ And God said to Abraham, As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai; but Sarah [Princess] her name shall be.

¹⁶ And I will bless her and give you a son also by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.

¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a son?

¹⁸ And [he] said to God, Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!

¹⁹ But God said, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son indeed, and you shall call his name Isaac [laughter]; and I will establish My covenant or solemn pledge with him for an everlasting covenant and with his posterity after him.

²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard and heeded you: behold, I will bless him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly; He will be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [Fulfilled in Gen. 25:12-18.]

²¹ But My covenant, My promise and pledge, I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year.

²² And God stopped talking with him and went up from Abraham.

²³ And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among [those] of Abraham’s house, and circumcised [them] the very same day, as God had said to him.

²⁴ And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised.

²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised.

²⁶ On the very same day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son as well.

²⁷ And all the men of his house, both those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised along with him.