5 He took Abram outside and said, “Now look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He also said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!”
6 Then Abram believed the Lord, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abram’s approval by the Lord.
7 Then the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land so that you will take possession of it.”
8 Abram asked, “Almighty Lord, how can I be certain that I will take possession of it?”
9 He answered Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a mourning dove, and a pigeon.”
10 So Abram brought all these animals to him. He cut each of them in half and laid each half opposite the other. However, he did not cut the birds in half.
11 When birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.