After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ^aFear not, Abram: I am thy ^bshield, and thy exceeding ^cgreat reward. ²And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of ^dDamascus? ³And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, ^eone born in my house is mine heir. ⁴And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that ^fshall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. ⁵And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and ^gtell the ^hstars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, ⁱSo shall thy seed be.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

ach. 26:24. Dan. 10:12. Luke 1:13, 30.
c Prov. 11:18. So Ps. 15:5.
dch. 14:15.
eSee ch. 14:14.
hch. 22:17. & 26:4. Ex. 32:13. Deut. 1:10. & 10:22. 1 Chr. 27:23. Jer. 33:22. Heb. 11:12. Comp. ch. 13:16.
iCited Rom. 4:18.

Cross references

b 2 Sam. 22:3. Ps. 3:3. & 18:2. & 84:11. & 119:114.
f 2 Sam. 7:12. & 16:11. 2 Chr. 32:21.
g Ps. 147:4.

Public Domain

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

“Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield,

your very great reward.”

But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

After these events, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

Do not be afraid, Abram.

I am your shield;

your reward will be very great.

But Abram said, “Lord God, what can you give me, since I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a slave born in my house will be my heir.”

Now the word of the Lord came to him: “This one will not be your heir; instead, one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “Your offspring will be that numerous.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying: “Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield, and your reward shall be very great.” Then Abram said, “O Yahweh, my Lord, what will you give me? I continue to be childless, and my heir is Eliezer of Damascus.” And Abram said, “Look, you have not given me a descendant, and here, a member of my household is my heir.” And behold, the word of Yahweh came to him saying, “This person will not be your heir, but your own son will be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”