Then again to Abraham the High-King of Heaven 2165 showed himself, with holy speech comforted the wise- hearted man, and spoke to him thus: "Great are thy rewards. Let not now thy heart grow idle, thou steadfast [doer] of my will. Nor needst thou fear anyone, while thou heedest my commandment, for with my own hands will I shelter and shield thee 2170 during thy life-time here against every woe: thou needst not be fearful." XXVI. Then Abraham, famed for his deeds, answered his Lord and asked Him, in the fullness of his days: "O Ruler of spirits, what dost thou give me for free- 2175 men's solace, now that I am thus solitary? I have no need to found an ancestral seat for any sons of mine, but after me shall my distant kinsmen dispose of my goods; thou hast not given me a son, and therefore sorrows weigh upon me very heavily in my heart; I myself can 2180 not devise any counsel. My steward goes rejoicing in his sons, and is firmly persuaded in his thoughts that after me his sons shall be the keepers of the heritage: they see that no children are born to me of my bride." To him then at once God answered: 2185 "Never shall thy steward possess the heritage of thy sons: but thine own children shall hold the treasure, when thy flesh lies [in the grave]. Behold the sky. Count those jewels, the stars of heaven, which now freely scatter 2190 their glorious radiance far and wide to shine brilliantly over the broad surface of the sea. Such shall be the multitude of thy descendants, rich in progeny. Let not thy heart be bound by sorrow. A son shall yet be born 2195 to thee, a child born of thy wife by ordinary birth, who after thee shall be the keeper of the inheritance, rich in property. Grieve no more: I am the Lord, who many winters ago led thee out of the stronghold of Caldea 2200 with but few followers, and promised thee a broad dwelling-place for thy possession: I give thee now my pledge, man of the Hebrews, that many a broad land on this earth shall be peopled with thy progeny, regions 2205 of the world as far as Eufrates even from the borders of Egypt, as many men and as wide a kingdom as the Nile cuts off and the sea bounds: all this shall thy sons 2210 own, each of the countries, as these three waters sur- round with their streams the lofty cities of stone, the foamy floods [surround] the refuge of the people." Then Sarra was grieved at heart that no son had come 2215 to Abraham through their wedlock, a free-born heir for their solace; so the sorrowful one began to speak to her husband in these words: