¹ After these things hath the word of Jehovah been unto Abram in a vision, saying, `Fear not, Abram, I [am] a shield to thee, thy reward [is] exceeding great.'

² And Abram saith, `Lord Jehovah, what dost Thou give to me, and I am going childless? and an acquired son in my house is Demmesek Eliezer.'

³ And Abram saith, `Lo, to me Thou hast not given seed, and lo, a domestic doth heir me.'

⁴ And lo, the word of Jehovah [is] unto him, saying, `This [one] doth not heir thee; but he who cometh out from thy bowels, he doth heir thee;'

⁵ and He bringeth him out without, and saith, `Look attentively, I pray thee, towards the heavens, and count the stars, if thou art able to count them;' and He saith to him, `Thus is thy seed.'

⁶ And he hath believed in Jehovah, and He reckoneth it to him -- righteousness.

⁷ And He saith unto him, `I [am] Jehovah who brought thee out from Ur of the Chaldees, to give to thee this land to possess it;'

⁸ and he saith, `Lord Jehovah, whereby do I know that I possess it?'

⁹ And He saith unto him, `Take for Me a heifer of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, and a turtle-dove, and a young bird;'

¹⁰ and he taketh to him all these, and separateth them in the midst, and putteth each piece over against its fellow, but the bird he hath not divided;

¹¹ and the ravenous birds come down upon the carcases, and Abram causeth them to turn back.

¹² And the sun is about to go in, and deep sleep hath fallen upon Abram, and lo, a terror of great darkness is falling upon him;

¹³ and He saith to Abram, `knowing -- know that thy seed is a sojourner in a land not theirs, and they have served them, and they have afflicted them four hundred years,

¹⁴ and the nation also whom they serve I judge, and after this they go out with great substance;

¹⁵ and thou -- thou comest in unto thy fathers in peace; thou art buried in a good old age;

¹⁶ and the fourth generation doth turn back hither, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.'

¹⁷ And it cometh to pass -- the sun hath gone in, and thick darkness hath been -- and lo, a furnace of smoke, and a lamp of fire, which hath passed over between those pieces.

¹⁸ In that day hath Jehovah made with Abram a covenant, saying, `To thy seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Phrat,

¹⁹ with the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite,

²⁰ and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,

²¹ and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'

¹ After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Don't be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

² Abram said, "Lord Yahweh, what will you give me, since I go childless, and he who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?"

³ Abram said, "Behold, to me you have given no seed: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir."

⁴ Behold, the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir, but he who will come forth out of your own body will be your heir."

⁵ Yahweh brought him outside, and said, "Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." He said to Abram, "So shall your seed be."

⁶ He believed in Yahweh; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.

⁷ He said to him, "I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to inherit it."

⁸ He said, "Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit 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 He brought him all of these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn't divide the birds.

¹¹ The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.

¹² When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.

¹³ He said to Abram, "Know for sure that your seed will live as foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them. They will afflict them four hundred years.

¹⁴ I will also judge that nation, whom they will serve. Afterward they will come out with great wealth,

¹⁵ but you will go to your fathers in peace. You will be buried in a good old age.

¹⁶ In the fourth generation they will come here again, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full."

¹⁷ It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.

¹⁸ In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your seed I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates:

¹⁹ the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,

²⁰ the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

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