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
The Tower of Babel
1Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land #Gen. 10:10; 14:1; Dan. 1:2of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower #Deut. 1:28; 9:1; Ps. 107:26whose top is in the heavens; let us make a #Gen. 6:4; 2 Sam. 8:13name for ourselves, lest we #Deut. 4:27be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
5#Gen. 18:21; Ex. 3:8; 19:11, 18, 20But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6And the Lord said, “Indeed #Gen. 9:19; Acts 17:26the people are one and they all have #Gen. 11:1one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they #Deut. 31:21; Ps. 2:1propose to do will be withheld from them. 7Come, #Gen. 1:26let Us go down and there #Gen. 42:23; Ex. 4:11; Deut. 28:49; Is. 33:19; Jer. 5:15confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8So #Gen. 11:4; Deut. 32:8; Ps. 92:9; (Luke 1:51)the Lord scattered them abroad from there #Gen. 10:25, 32over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9Therefore its name is called Babel, #1 Cor. 14:23because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Shem’s Descendants
10#Gen. 10:22–25; 1 Chr. 1:17This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
12Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, #Luke 3:35and begot Salah. 13After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
14Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.
16#1 Chr. 1:19Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot #Luke 3:35Peleg. 17After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.
18Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.
20Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot #Luke 3:35Serug. 21After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.
22Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.
24Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot #Gen. 11:31; Josh. 24:2; Luke 3:34Terah. 25After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.
26Now Terah lived seventy years, and #Josh. 24:2; 1 Chr. 1:26begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Terah’s Descendants
27This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot #Gen. 11:31; 17:5Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. 28And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was #Gen. 17:15; 20:12Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, #Gen. 22:20, 23; 24:15Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30But#Gen. 16:1, 2; Luke 1:36 Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31And Terah #Gen. 12:1took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from #Gen. 15:7; Neh. 9:7; Acts 7:4Ur of the Chaldeans to go to #Gen. 10:19the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.