Genesis

God’s Covenant with Abram
(Romans 4:1–12; Hebrews 11:8–19)

1 After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward.”

2 But  Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain  childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

3 Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

4 Then  the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your  heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

5 And  the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count  the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring  be.”a

6 Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.b

7 The LORD also told him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”

God Confirms His Promise
(Numbers 34:1–15; Romans 4:13–25)

8 But Abram replied, “Lord GOD, how can I know that I will possess it?”

9 And  the LORD said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three  years old, along with a turtledove and a young pigeon.”

10 So  Abram brought all these to Him, split each of them down the middle, and  laid the halves opposite each other. The birds, however, he did not cut  in half.

11 And the birds of prey descended on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.

13 Then  the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be  strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved  and mistreated four hundred years.

14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.c  

15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.

16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

17 When  the sun had set and darkness had fallen, behold, a smoking firepot and a  flaming torch appeared and passed between the halves of the carcasses.

18 On  that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your  descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great  River Euphrates—

19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites,

21Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.”

Footnotes:
5 a Cited in Romans 4:18
6 b Cited in Romans 4:3, Romans 4:22, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23
14 c Cited in Acts 7:6–7