am, comforting
the noble man of heart with holy speech, and said:

(ll. 2168-2172) "Great shall be thy reward! Let not thy heart be
shaken, doing My will. Thou needest have no whit of dread if
thou wilt keep My precepts, but I will shield thee with My hands,
and shelter thee from every evil, so long as thy life endureth.
Be not afraid."

XXXI

(ll. 2173-2186) And Abraham, full of years and noble deeds, made
answer to his Lord and asked: "What comfort canst Thou give me,
Lord of spirits, who am thus desolate? No need have I to heap up
treasure for any child of mine, but after me my kinsmen shall
enjoy my wealth. Thou grantest me no son, and therefore sorrow
presseth on my heart. I can devise no counsel. My steward goeth
to and fro rejoicing in his children, and firmly thinketh in his
heart that after me his sons shall be my heirs. He seeth that no
child is born to me."

(ll. 2187-2215) And straightway God made answer unto him: "Never
shall son of thy steward inherit thy goods; but thine own son
shall have thy treasure when thy flesh lieth cold. Behold the
heavens! Number their jewels, the shining stars, that shed their
wondrous beauty far and wide, and blaze so brightly over the
spacious sea. So shall thy tribe be and thy seed for number.
Let not thy heart be troubled. Yet shall thy wife conceive and
bear a son, great in goodness, to be warden of thy wealth, when
thou art gone. Be not cast down. I am the Lord who, many a year
ago, brought thee forth from out the land of the Chaldeans, with
but a few, and gave thee this wide realm to rule. I give thee
now My promise, prince of Hebrews, thy seed shall settle many a
spacious kingdom, the regions of the world from the Egyptian
borders even unto Euphrates, and where the Nile hems in a mighty
land and the sea limits it. All this shall thy sons inhabit;
each tract and tribal realm and lofty stone-built city,
whatsoever those three waters and their foaming floods encircle
with their streams."

(ll. 2216-2219) Now Sarah's heart was heavy that she bare no
goodly son to gladden Abraham; with bitter grief she spake unto
her husband:

(ll. 2220-2233) "The Lord of heaven hath denied me to increase
thy tribe, or bear thee children under heaven. I have no hope
that we shall have a son to stay our house. My heart is sad. My
lord, do now according as I bid thee. Here is a virgin subject
unto thee, a comely maid, a daughter of the Egyptian people. Bid
her