After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I [am] thy shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward. (15:1)

And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house [is] this Eliezer of Damascus? (15:2)

And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. (15:3)

And, behold, the word of the Lord [came] unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. (15:4)

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. (15:5)

And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (15:6)

And he said unto him, I [am] the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it. (15:7)

And he said, Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? (15:8)

And he said unto him, Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. (15:9)

And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not. (15:10)

And when the fowls came down upon the carcases, Abram drove them away. (15:11)

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. (15:12)

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land [that is] not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; (15:13)

And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. (15:14)

And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. (15:15)

But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites [is] not yet full. (15:16)

And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. (15:17)