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.
Genesis 11
11
The Tower of Babel
1At first everyone spoke the same language, 2but after some of them moved from the east#11.2 from the east: Or “to the east.” and settled in Babylonia,#11.2 Babylonia: See the note at 10.6-20. 3-4they said:
Let's build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We'll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We'll become famous, and we won't be scattered all over the world.
5But when the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower, 6he said:
These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. 7Let's go down and confuse them! We'll make them speak different languages, and they won't be able to understand each other.
8-9So the people had to stop building the city, because the Lord confused their language and scattered them all over the earth. That's how the city of Babel#11.8,9 Babel: In Hebrew “Babel” sounds like “confused.” got its name.
The Descendants of Shem
10-11Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100, he had a son named Arpachshad. He had more children and died at the age of 600. This is a list of his descendants:
12When Arpachshad was 35, he had a son named Shelah. 13Arpachshad had more children and died at the age of 438.
14When Shelah was 30, he had a son named Eber. 15Shelah had more children and died at the age of 433.
16When Eber was 34, he had a son named Peleg. 17Eber had more children and died at the age of 464.
18When Peleg was 30, he had a son named Reu. 19Peleg had more children and died at the age of 239.
20When Reu was 32 he had a son named Serug. 21Reu had more children and died at the age of 239.
22When Serug was 30, he had a son named Nahor. 23Serug had more children and died at the age of 230.
24When Nahor was 29, he had a son named Terah. 25Nahor had more children and died at the age of 148.
The Descendants of Terah
26-28After Terah was 70 years old, he had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran, who became the father of Lot. Terah's sons were born in the city of Ur in Chaldea,#11.26-28 Ur in Chaldea: Chaldea was a region at the head of the Persian Gulf. Ur was on the main trade routes from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean Sea. and Haran died there before the death of his father. The following is the story of Terah's descendants.
29-30Abram married Sarai, but she was not able to have children. And Nahor married Milcah, who was the daughter of Haran and the sister of Iscah.
31Terah decided to move from Ur to the land of Canaan. He took along Abram and Sarai and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. But when they came to the city of Haran,#11.31 Haran: About 885 kilometers northwest of Ur. they settled there instead. 32Terah lived to be 205 years old and died in Haran.
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
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