And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, "Give me the persons and take the goods to thyself." And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have lifted up my hand unto the Lord, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a shoelatchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, 'I have made Abram rich': {27} save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me; let them take their portion." GOD'S PROMISES. _The Making of the Covenant_. 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." And Abram said, "O Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I am childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is my servant, Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "Behold, to me thou hast given no child: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir." And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, "This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall be thine own son shall be thine heir." And he brought him forth abroad, and said, "Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them": and he said unto him, "So shall thy family be." And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, "I am the Lord who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." And he said, "O Lord God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?" 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 turtle dove, and a young pigeon." And he took him all these, and divided them in the {28} midst, and laid each half over against the other: but the birds divided he not. And the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, and Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, "Know of a surety that thy family shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full." And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "Unto thy family have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates." THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL. _Abram Receives a New Name. Visit of the Messengers_.