3. And Abram continued, Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir.
4. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.
5. And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars–if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be. [Heb. 11:12.]
6. And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). [Rom. 4:3, 18-22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23.]
7. And He said to him, I am the [same] Lord, Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land as an inheritance.
8. But he [Abram] said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?
9. And He said to him, Bring to Me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.
10. And he brought Him all these and cut them down the middle [into halves] and laid each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide.
11. And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12. When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror (a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him.