On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates:
I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies.
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.’
but the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and turned towards them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was not willing to destroy them. Even now he has not banished them from his presence.