When the sun went down, Abram fell sound asleep, ¹  and great terror overwhelmed him. ² 

That day the Lord made a covenant ¹  with Abram: “To your descendants I give ²  this land, from the river of Egypt ³  to the great river, the Euphrates River –

No longer will your name be ¹  Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham ²  because I will make you ³  the father of a multitude of nations.

“You are the LORD God who chose Abram and brought him forth from Ur of the Chaldeans. You changed his name to Abraham.

Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree ¹  of Moreh ²  at Shechem. ³  (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.) ⁴ 

Abram added, ¹  “Since ²  you have not given me a descendant, then look, one born in my house will be my heir!” ³ 

Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain ¹  that your descendants will be strangers ²  in a foreign country. ³  They will be enslaved and oppressed ⁴  for four hundred years.

Abram believed ¹  the Lord, and the Lord ²  considered his response of faith ³  as proof of genuine loyalty. ⁴ 

When Abram heard that his nephew ¹  had been taken captive, he mobilized ²  his 318 trained men who had been born in his household, and he pursued the invaders ³  as far as Dan. ⁴ 

Abram said to Sarai, “Since your ¹  servant is under your authority, ²  do to her whatever you think best.” ³  Then Sarai treated Hagar ⁴  harshly, ⁵  so she ran away from Sarai. ⁶ 

Worthy of praise is ¹  the Most High God, who delivered ²  your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave Melchizedek ³  a tenth of everything.

And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew ¹  Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired ²  in Haran, and they left for ³  the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have brought this wrong on me! ¹  I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, ²  but when she realized ³  that she was pregnant, she despised me. ⁴  May the Lord judge between you and me!” ⁵ 

After Abram ¹  returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet Abram ²  in the Valley of Shaveh (known as the King’s Valley). ³ 

Pharaoh gave his men orders about Abram, ¹  and so they expelled him, along with his wife and all his possessions.

Then, during the night, ¹  Abram ²  divided his forces ³  against them and defeated them. He chased them as far as Hobah, which is north ⁴  of Damascus.

He retrieved all the stolen property. ¹  He also brought back his nephew Lot and his possessions, as well as the women and the rest of ²  the people.

So Abram ¹  took all these for him and then cut them in two ²  and placed each half opposite the other, ³  but he did not cut the birds in half.

When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram’s wife ¹  was taken ²  into the household of Pharaoh, ³ 

The Lord ¹  took him outside and said, “Gaze into the sky and count the stars – if you are able to count them!” Then he said to him, “So will your descendants be.”