1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech. 2And as people journeyed eastward,#11:2 Or from the east or in the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar #11:2 That is, Babylonia and settled there.

3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

5Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And the Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

8So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why it is called Babel,#11:9 Or Babylon; the Hebrew word for Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused. for there the Lord confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the Lord scattered them over the face of all the earth.

Genealogy from Shem to Abram

(1 Chronicles 1:17–27)

10This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.#11:13 Hebrew; LXX (see also Luke 3:35–36) 12 When Arphaxad was 135 years old, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he had become the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he had become the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters. Note that LXX also adds 100 years to the ages of Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, and Nahor in this genealogy.

14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

31And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there. 32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

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Genesis 11

Tower of Babel

1Now the entire earth had the same language with the same vocabulary.

2When they traveled eastward, they found a valley-plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

3They said to one another, “Come! Let’s make bricks and bake them until they’re hard.” So they used bricks for stone, and tar for mortar.

4Then they said, “Come! Let’s build ourselves a city, with a tower whose top reaches into heaven. So let’s make a name for ourselves, or else we will be scattered over the face of the whole land.”

5Then Adonai came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of man had built.

6Adonai said, “Look, the people are one and all of them have the same language. So this is what they have begun to do. Now, nothing they plan to do will be impossible.

7Come! Let Us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.”

8So Adonai scattered them from there over the face of the entire land, and they stopped building the city.

9This is why it is named Babel, because Adonai confused the languages of the entire world there, and from there Adonai scattered them over the face of the entire world.

From Shem to Abram

10These are the genealogical records of Shem: Shem was 100 years old when he fathered Arpachshad—two years after the flood.

11Shem lived 500 years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered sons and daughters.

12Arpachshad lived 35 years when he fathered Shelah.

13Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and fathered sons and daughters.

14Shelah lived 30 years and he fathered Eber.

15Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and fathered sons and daughters.

16Eber lived 34 years and he fathered Peleg.

17Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered sons and daughters.

18Peleg lived 30 years and he fathered Reu.

19Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered sons and daughters.

20Reu lived 32 years and he fathered Serug.

21Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered sons and daughters.

22Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor.

23Serug lived 200 years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered sons and daughters.

24Nahor lived 27 years and he fathered Terah.

25Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered sons and daughters.

26Terah lived 70 years when he fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran.

27These are Terah’s genealogies: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran fathered Lot.

28Haran died before Terah his father, 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, father of Milcah and Iscah.

30Sarai was barren; she did not have a child.

31Terah took Abram his son and Lot, Haran’s son, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and he took them out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there.

32Terah’s days were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

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Genesis 11

Genesis 11