Genesis 11
11
“God Turned Their Language into ‘Babble’”
1-2At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.
3They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them well.” They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.
4Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let’s make ourselves famous so we won’t be scattered here and there across the Earth.”
5 God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
6-9 God took one look and said, “One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they’ll come up with next—they’ll stop at nothing! Come, we’ll go down and garble their speech so they won’t understand each other.” Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That’s how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into “babble.” From there God scattered them all over the world.
* * *
10-11This is the story of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he had Arphaxad. It was two years after the flood. After he had Arphaxad, he lived 500 more years and had other sons and daughters.
12-13When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
14-15When Shelah was thirty years old, he had Eber. After Shelah had Eber, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
16-17When Eber was thirty-four years old, he had Peleg. After Eber had Peleg, he lived 430 more years and had other sons and daughters.
18-19When Peleg was thirty years old, he had Reu. After he had Reu, he lived 209 more years and had other sons and daughters.
20-21When Reu was thirty-two years old, he had Serug. After Reu had Serug, he lived 207 more years and had other sons and daughters.
22-23When Serug was thirty years old, he had Nahor. After Serug had Nahor, he lived 200 more years and had other sons and daughters.
24-25When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he had Terah. After Nahor had Terah, he lived 119 more years and had other sons and daughters.
26When Terah was seventy years old, he had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Family Tree of Terah
27-28This is the story of Terah. Terah had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Haran had Lot. Haran died before his father, Terah, in the country of his family, Ur of the Chaldees.
29Abram and Nahor each got married. Abram’s wife was Sarai; Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran. Haran had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah.
30Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and Sarai his daughter-in-law (his son Abram’s wife) and set out with them from Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. But when they got as far as Haran, they settled down there.
32Terah lived 205 years. He died in Haran.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Genesis 11
11
1 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2As they traveled east,#11:2 LXX reads “from the east”. they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. 3They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”
5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. 6The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do. 7Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city. 9Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. From there, the LORD scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
10 This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
12Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah. 13Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber. 15Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg. 17Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
18 Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu. 19Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug. 21Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
22 Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor. 23Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah. 25Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and became the father of more sons and daughters.
26 Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur-Kasdim, while his father Terah was still alive. 29Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30Sarai was barren. She had no child. 31Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur-Kasdim, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there. 32The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.
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