God's Covenant with Abram

15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ^(A)“Fear not, Abram, I am ^(B)your shield; your reward shall be very great.” ² But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue^[a] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and ^(C)a member of my household will be my heir.” ⁴ And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; ^(D)your very own son^[b] shall be your heir.” ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and ^(E)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, ^(F)“So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And ^(G)he believed the Lord, and ^(H)he counted it to him as righteousness.

⁷ And he said to him, “I am the Lord who ^(I)brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans ^(J)to give you this land to possess.” ⁸ But he said, “O Lord God, ^(K)how am I to know that I shall possess it?” ⁹ He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” ¹⁰ And he brought him all these, ^(L)cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But ^(M)he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

¹² As the sun was going down, a ^(N)deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

¹⁷ When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ^(A)“To your offspring I give^[a] this land, from ^(B)the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,

¹⁷ Brothers, ^(A)join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk ^(B)according to the example you have in us. ¹⁸ For ^(C)many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you ^(D)even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. ^19 (E)Their end is destruction, ^(F)their god is their belly, and ^(G)they glory in their shame, with ^(H)minds set on earthly things. ²⁰ But ^(I)our citizenship is in heaven, and ^(J)from it we ^(K)await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who will transform ^(L)our lowly body ^(M)to be like his glorious body, ^(N)by the power that enables him even ^(O)to subject all things to himself.

4 Therefore, my brothers,^[a] whom I love and ^(P)long for, ^(Q)my joy and ^(R)crown, ^(S)stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Lament over Jerusalem

³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from ^(A)here, for ^(B)Herod wants to kill you.” ³² And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day ^(C)I finish my course. ³³ Nevertheless, ^(D)I ^(E)must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that ^(F)a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ ^34 (G)O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that ^(H)kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! ^(I)How often would I have ^(J)gathered ^(K)your children together ^(L)as a hen gathers her brood ^(M)under her wings, and ^(N)you were not willing! ³⁵ Behold, ^(O)your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ^(P)‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”