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.
Bereshis 11
11
1And the kol HaAretz was of one language and of devarim achadim (common words).
2And it came to pass, as they migrated from the east, that they found a plain in Eretz Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and bake them thoroughly. And they had brick for even (stone), and bitumen had they for mortar.
4And they said, Come, let us build us an Ir and a Migdal, whose rosh (top) may reach unto Shomayim; and let us make us a shem, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of kol HaAretz.
5And Hashem came down to see the Ir and the Migdal, which Bnei HaAdam built.
6And Hashem said, See, the Am is echad and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be impossible for them, which they have proposed to do.
7Come, let Us go down, and there confuse their sefat, that they may not understand one anotherʼs language.
8So Hashem scattered them abroad from there upon the face of kol Ha'Aretz; and they left off building the Ir.
9Therefore is the shem of it called Bavel; because Hashem did there confuse the language of kol Ha'Aretz; and from there did Hashem scatter them abroad upon the face of kol Ha'Aretz.
10These are the toldot of Shem: Shem was a hundred years old, and fathered Arpachshad two years after the mabbul;
11And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad five hundred shanah, and fathered banim and banot.
12And Arpachshad lived five and thirty shanah, and fathered Shelach;
13And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelach four hundred and three shanim, and fathered banim and banot.
14And Shelach lived thirty shanah, and fathered Ever;
15And Shelach lived after he fathered Ever four hundred and three shanah, and fathered banim and banot.
16And Ever lived four and thirty shanah, and fathered Peleg;
17And Ever lived after he fathered Peleg four hundred and thirty shanah, and fathered banim and banot.
18And Peleg lived thirty shanah, and fathered Reu;
19And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu two hundred and nine shanim, and fathered banim and banot.
20And Reu lived two and thirty shanah, and fathered Serug;
21And Reu lived after he fathered Serug two hundred and seven shanim, and fathered banim and banot.
22And Serug lived thirty shanah, and fathered Nachor;
23And Serug lived after he fathered Nachor two hundred shanah, and fathered banim and banot.
24And Nachor lived nine and twenty shanah, and fathered Terach;
25And Nachor lived after he fathered Terach a hundred and nineteen shanah, and fathered banim and banot.
26And Terach lived seventy shanah, and fathered Avram, Nachor, and Haran.
27Now these are the toldot Terach: Terach fathered Avram, Nachor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.
28And Haran died before his av Terach in the land of his birth, in Ur Kasdim.
29And Avram and Nachor took them nashim: the shem eshet Avram was Sarai; and the shem eshet Nachor was Milcah, the bat Haran Avi Milcah, and Avi Yiskah.
30But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31And Terach took Avram bno, and ben bno Lot ben Haran, and Sarai his kallah, eshet Avram bno; and they went forth with them from Ur Kasdim, to go into Eretz Kena'an; and they came unto Charan (Haran), and dwelt there.
32And the days of Terach were two hundred and five shanim; and Terach died in Charan (Haran).
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.