Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2And as they migrated from the east,#11.2 Or migrated eastward they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” 5The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech.” 8So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused#11.9 Heb balal, meaning to confuse the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

10These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; 11and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachshad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah; 13and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.

14When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber; 15and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred three years, and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg; 17and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu; 19and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred nine years, and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug; 21and Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred seven years, and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor; 23and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah; 25and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah one hundred nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.

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

Descendants of Terah

27Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32The days of Terah were two hundred five years; and Terah died in Haran.

Learn More About New Revised Standard Version Catholic Interconfessional

Genesis 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.

For more information about the NLT:

Learn More About New Living Translation