Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babylon
1At first, the people of the whole world had only one language and used the same words. 2As they wandered about in the East, they came to a plain in Babylonia and settled there. 3They said to one another, “Come on! Let's make bricks and bake them hard.” So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together. 4They said, “Now let's build a city with a tower that reaches the sky, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth.”
5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which those men had built, 6and he said, “Now then, these are all one people and they speak one language; this is just the beginning of what they are going to do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want! 7Let us go down and mix up their language so that they will not understand one another.” 8So the LORD scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9The city was called Babylon,#11.9 Babylon: This name sounds like the Hebrew for “mixed up”. because there the LORD mixed up the language of all the people, and from there he scattered them all over the earth.
The Descendants of Shem
(1 Chr 1.24–27)
10These are the descendants of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had a son, Arpachshad. 11After that, he lived another 500 years and had other children.
12When Arpachshad was 35 years old, he had a son, Shelah; 13after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.
14When Shelah was thirty years old, he had a son, Eber; 15after that, he lived another 403 years and had other children.
16When Eber was 34 years old, he had a son, Peleg; 17after that, he lived another 430 years and had other children.
18When Peleg was thirty years old, he had a son, Reu; 19after that, he lived another 209 years and had other children.
20When Reu was 32 years old, he had a son, Serug; 21after that, he lived another 207 years and had other children.
22When Serug was thirty years old, he had a son, Nahor; 23after that, he lived another 200 years and had other children.
24When Nahor was 29 years old, he had a son, Terah; 25after that, he lived another 119 years and had other children.
26After Terah was seventy years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Descendants of Terah
27These are the descendants of Terah, who was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot, 28and Haran died in his native city, Ur in Babylonia, while his father was still living. 29Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah. 30Sarai was not able to have children.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife, and with them he left the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the land of Canaan. They went as far as Haran and settled there. 32Terah died there at the age of 205.
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Genesis 11
11
1 Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech.
2 And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it.
3 And each one said to his neighbor, "Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire." And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar.
4 And they said: "Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands."
5 Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building.
6 And he said: "Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work.
7 Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor."
8 And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city.
9 And for this reason, its name was called 'Babel,' because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region.
10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when he conceived Arphaxad, two years after the great flood.
11 And after he conceived Arphaxad, Shem lived for five hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
12 Next, Arphaxad lived for thirty-five years, and then he conceived Shelah.
13 And after he conceived Shelah, Arphaxad lived for three hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
14 Likewise, Shelah lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Eber.
15 And after he conceived Eber, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
16 Then Eber lived for thirty-four years, and he conceived Peleg.
17 And after he conceived Peleg, Eber lived for four hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
18 Likewise, Peleg lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Reu.
19 And after he conceived Reu, Peleg lived for two hundred and nine years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
20 Then Reu lived for thirty-two years, and then he conceived Serug.
21 Likewise, after he conceived Serug, Reu lived for two hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
22 In truth, Serug lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Nahor.
23 And after he conceived Nahor, Serug lived for two hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
24 And so Nahor lived for twenty-nine years, and then he conceived Terah.
25 And after he conceived Terah, Nahor lived for one hundred and nineteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters.
26 And Terah lived for seventy years, and then he conceived Abram, and Nahor, and Haran.
27 And these are the generations of Terah. Terah conceived Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Next Haran conceived Lot.
28 And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai. And the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.
30 But Sarai was barren and had no children.
31 And so Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and he led them away from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. And they approached as far as Haran, and they dwelt there.
32 And the days of Terah that passed were two hundred and five years, and then he died in Haran.