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

⁸ And he said, “Lord God, ^(D)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 ^(E)cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut ^(F)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, ^(G)a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. ¹³ Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly ^(H)that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and ^(I)they will afflict them four hundred years. ¹⁴ And also the nation whom they serve ^(J)I will judge; afterward ^(K)they shall come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ Now as for you, ^(L)you shall ^[a]go ^(M)to your fathers in peace; ^(N)you shall be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ But ^(O)in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity ^(P)of the Amorites ^(Q)is not yet complete.”

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 ^(R)passed between those pieces. ¹⁸ On the same day the Lord ^(S)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

^(T)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— ¹⁹ the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹ the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

¹⁸ And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when ^(A)they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it—

God’s Infallible Purpose in Christ

¹³ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, ^(A)He swore by Himself, ¹⁴ saying, ^(B)“Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” ¹⁵ And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the ^(C)promise. ¹⁶ For men indeed swear by the greater, and ^(D)an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. ¹⁷ Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to ^(E)the heirs of promise ^(F)the ^[a]immutability of His counsel, ^[b]confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸ that by two ^[c]immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to ^(G)lie, we ^[d]might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope ^(H)set before us.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now ^(A)the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, ^(B)being witnessed by the Law ^(C)and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all ^[a]and on all who believe. For ^(D)there is no difference; ²³ for ^(E)all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified ^[b]freely ^(F)by His grace ^(G)through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God set forth ^(H)as a ^[c]propitiation ^(I)by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over ^(J)the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶ to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

David Celebrates the Same Truth

⁵ But to him who ^(A)does not work but believes on Him who justifies ^(B)the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, ⁶ just as David also ^(C)describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

¹⁵ because ^(A)the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.

³ And not only that, but ^(A)we also glory in tribulations, ^(B)knowing that tribulation produces ^[a]perseverance; ^4 (C)and perseverance, ^[b]character; and character, hope. ^5 (D)Now hope does not disappoint, ^(E)because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.