Genesis 11

1 Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech.

2 And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it.

3 And each one said to his neighbor, "Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire." And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar.

4 And they said: "Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands."

5 Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building.

6 And he said: "Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work.

7 Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor."

8 And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city.

9 And for this reason, its name was called 'Babel,' because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region.

10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when he conceived Arphaxad, two years after the great flood.

11 And after he conceived Arphaxad, Shem lived for five hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

12 Next, Arphaxad lived for thirty-five years, and then he conceived Shelah.

13 And after he conceived Shelah, Arphaxad lived for three hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

14 Likewise, Shelah lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Eber.

15 And after he conceived Eber, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

16 Then Eber lived for thirty-four years, and he conceived Peleg.

17 And after he conceived Peleg, Eber lived for four hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

18 Likewise, Peleg lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Reu.

19 And after he conceived Reu, Peleg lived for two hundred and nine years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

20 Then Reu lived for thirty-two years, and then he conceived Serug.

21 Likewise, after he conceived Serug, Reu lived for two hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

22 In truth, Serug lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Nahor.

23 And after he conceived Nahor, Serug lived for two hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

24 And so Nahor lived for twenty-nine years, and then he conceived Terah.

25 And after he conceived Terah, Nahor lived for one hundred and nineteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived for seventy years, and then he conceived Abram, and Nahor, and Haran.

27 And these are the generations of Terah. Terah conceived Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Next Haran conceived Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives. 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, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren and had no children.

31 And so Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and he led them away from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. And they approached as far as Haran, and they dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah that passed were two hundred and five years, and then he died in Haran.

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

1The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. 2As people moved toward the east,#11:2 Or “from the east.” they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.

3They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar #11:3 Or “bitumen.” as mortar.

4Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”

5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. 6The Lord said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. 7Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”

8So the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9This is why it was named Babel, because there the Lord turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth.

The Ten Descendants of Shem—Shem to Terah

(1 Chronicles 1:17–23)

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

12Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah. 13After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber. 15After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg. 17After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu. 19After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug. 21After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor. 23After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah. 25After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

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

Terah Moves to Haran

27This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land. 29Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, 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 (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. 32Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

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Genesis 11

Genesis 11