6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the LORD said to him, “ Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon .” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other ; the birds, however, he did not cut in half .