1Now all the earth #11.1: Lit was one lipused the same language and #11.1: Or few or one set of wordsthe same words. 2And it came about, as they journeyed #11.2: Or from the easteast, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and #11.2: Lit dweltsettled there. 3Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and #11.3: I.e., in a kiln to harden themfire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the #11.5: Lit sons of mankindmen had built. 6And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have #11.6: Lit one lipthe same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be #11.6: Lit inaccessible toimpossible for them. 7Come, #11.7: I.e., indicating united action, not a requestlet Us go down and there confuse their #11.7: Lit liplanguage, so that they will not understand one another’s #11.7: Lit lipspeech.” 8So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9Therefore it was named #11.9: Or Babylon; cf. Heb balal, confuseBabel, because there the Lord confused the #11.9: Lit liplanguage of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

10These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; 11and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

12Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; 13and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

14Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; 15and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

16Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; 17and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

18Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; 19and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; 21and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

22Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; 23and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

24Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered Terah; 25and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

26Terah lived seventy years, and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28Haran died #11.28: Lit before the face ofduring the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah #11.29: Lit and the father ofand Iscah. 30Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

31Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed #11.31: Lit with themtogether from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and #11.31: Lit dweltsettled there. 32The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

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Genesis 11

The Languages Confused

1At this time the whole world spoke one language. Everyone used the same words. 2As people moved from the East, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia. They settled there to live.

3They said to each other, “Let’s make bricks and bake them to make them hard.” So they used bricks instead of stones, and tar instead of mortar. 4Then they said to each other, “Let’s build for ourselves a city and a tower. And let’s make the top of the tower reach high into the sky. We will become famous. If we do this, we will not be scattered over all the earth.”

5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. 6The Lord said, “Now, these people are united. They all speak the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do. They will be able to do anything they want. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language. Then they will not be able to understand each other.”

8So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth. And they stopped building the city. 9That is where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. So the place is called Babel.# This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “confused.” So the Lord caused them to spread out from there over all the whole world.

The Story of Shem’s Family

10This is the family history of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. 11After that, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. 13After that, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14When Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. 15After that, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. 17After that, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. 19After that, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. 21After that, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. 23After that, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. 25After that, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26After Terah was 70 years old, his sons Abram, Nahor and Haran were born.

The Story of Terah’s Family

27This is the family history of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28Haran died while his father, Terah, was still alive. This happened in Ur in Babylonia, where he was born. 29Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai. Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30Sarai was not able to have children.

31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son) and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife). They moved out of Ur of Babylonia. They had planned to go to the land of Canaan. But when they reached the city of Haran, they settled there.

32Terah lived to be 205 years old. Then he died in Haran.

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Genesis 11

Genesis 11