Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia#11:2 Hebrew Shinar. and settled there.
3They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
5But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6“Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
8In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9That is why the city was called Babel,#11:9 Or Babylon. Babel sounds like a Hebrew term that means “confusion.” because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
The Line of Descent from Shem to Abram
10This is the account of Shem’s family.
Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of#11:10 Or the ancestor of; also in 11:12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24. Arphaxad. 11After the birth of#11:11 Or the birth of this ancestor of; also in 11:13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25. Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.#11:12-13 Greek version reads 12When Arphaxad was 135 years old, he became the father of Cainan. 13After the birth of Cainan, Arphaxad lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan was 130 years old, he became the father of Shelah. After the birth of Shelah, Cainan lived another 330 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. Compare Luke 3:35-36.
14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Family of Terah
27This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living. 29Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.) 30But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
31One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. 32Terah lived for 205 years#11:32 Some ancient versions read 145 years; compare 11:26 and 12:4. and died while still in Haran.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT:
Genesis 11
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.
Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society