Genesis 11

The tower of Babel

1Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2As people moved eastward,#11:2 Or from the east; or in the east they found a plain in Shinar#11:2 That is, Babylonia and settled there.

3They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.’

5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6The Lord said, ‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.’

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

From Shem to Abram

10This is the account of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father#11:10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25. of Arphaxad. 11And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.#11:12,13 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35,36 and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he became 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 became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters

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

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

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

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

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

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

26After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

Abram’s family

27This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. 30Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.

31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.

32Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®

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Berĕshith (Genesis) 11

1And all the earth had one language#Hebrew lip. and one speech.

2And it came to be, as they set out from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shin‛ar,#Earlier name for Baḇel. and they dwelt there.

3And they said to each other, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens, and make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over all the face of the earth.”

5Then יהוה came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

6And יהוה said, “Look, they are one people and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do! And now, they are not going to be withheld from doing whatever they plan to do.

7“Come, let Us go there and confuse their language, so that they do not understand one another’s speech.”

8And יהוה scattered them from there, over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

9That is why its name was called Baḇel,#Baḇel is derived from a verb which means “to confuse.” because there יהוה confused the language of all the earth, and from there יהוה scattered them over the face of all the earth.

10This is the genealogy of Shĕm: Shĕm was a hundred years old and brought forth Arpaḵshaḏ, two years after the flood.

11And after he brought forth Arpaḵshaḏ, Shĕm lived five hundred years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

12And Arpaḵshaḏ lived thirty-five years, and brought forth Shelaḥ.

13And after he brought forth Shelaḥ, Arpaḵshaḏ lived four hundred and three years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

14And Shelaḥ lived thirty years, and brought forth Ěḇer.

15And after he brought forth Ěḇer, Shelaḥ lived four hundred and three years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

16And Ěḇer lived thirty-four years, and brought forth Peleḡ.

17And after he brought forth Peleḡ, Ěḇer lived four hundred and thirty years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

18And Peleḡ lived thirty years, and brought forth Re‛u.

19And after he brought forth Re‛u, Peleḡ lived two hundred and nine years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

20And Re‛u lived thirty-two years, and brought forth Seruḡ.

21And after he brought forth Seruḡ, Re‛u lived two hundred and seven years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

22And Seruḡ lived thirty years, and brought forth Naḥor.

23And after he brought forth Naḥor, Seruḡ lived two hundred years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

24And Naḥor lived twenty-nine years, and brought forth Teraḥ.

25And after he brought forth Teraḥ, Naḥor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and brought forth sons and daughters.

26And Teraḥ lived seventy years, and brought forth Aḇram, Naḥor, and Haran.

27And this is the genealogy of Teraḥ: Teraḥ brought forth Aḇram, Naḥor, and Haran. And Haran brought forth Lot.

28And Haran died before his father Teraḥ in the land of his birth, in Ur-kasdim.

29And Aḇram and Naḥor took wives: the name of Aḇram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Naḥor’s wife, Milkah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milkah and the father of Yiskah.

30And Sarai was barren, she had no child.

31And Teraḥ took his son Aḇram and his grandson Lot, son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Aḇram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur-kasdim to go to the land of Kena‛an. And they came to Ḥaran and dwelt there.

32And the days of Teraḥ came to be two hundred and five years, and Teraḥ died in Ḥaran.

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