Genesis 11
11
1And the whole earth had one language, and the same words. 2And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and dwelt there. 3And they said one to another, Come on, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. 4And they said, Come on, let us build ourselves a city and a tower, the top of which may reach to the heavens; and let us make ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
5And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built. 6And Jehovah said, Behold, the people is one, and have all one language; and this have they begun to do. And now will they be hindered in nothing that they meditate doing. 7Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8And Jehovah scattered them thence over the face of the whole earth. And they left off building the city. 9Therefore was its name called Babel; because Jehovah there confounded the language of the whole earth. And Jehovah scattered them thence over the face of the whole earth.
10These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. 11And Shem lived after he had begotten Arphaxad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Shelah. 13And Arphaxad lived after he had begotten Shelah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 14And Shelah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15And Shelah lived after he had begotten Eber four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 16And Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot Peleg. 17And Eber lived after he had begotten Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19And Peleg lived after he had begotten Reu two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. 20And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Serug. 21And Reu lived after he had begotten Serug two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 22And Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23And Serug lived after he had begotten Nahor two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 24And Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot Terah. 25And Nahor lived after he had begotten Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 26And Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27And these are the generations of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. 28And Haran died before the face of his father Terah in the land of his nativity at Ur of the Chaldeans. 29And Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, a daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30And Sarai was barren: she had no child. 31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth together out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan, and came as far as Haran, and dwelt there. 32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
First published in 1890. This edition is maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 11
11
“God Turned Their Language into ‘Babble’”
1-2At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language. It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.
3They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them well.” They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.
4Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let’s make ourselves famous so we won’t be scattered here and there across the Earth.”
5 God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
6-9 God took one look and said, “One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they’ll come up with next—they’ll stop at nothing! Come, we’ll go down and garble their speech so they won’t understand each other.” Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city. That’s how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into “babble.” From there God scattered them all over the world.
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10-11This is the story of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he had Arphaxad. It was two years after the flood. After he had Arphaxad, he lived 500 more years and had other sons and daughters.
12-13When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
14-15When Shelah was thirty years old, he had Eber. After Shelah had Eber, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
16-17When Eber was thirty-four years old, he had Peleg. After Eber had Peleg, he lived 430 more years and had other sons and daughters.
18-19When Peleg was thirty years old, he had Reu. After he had Reu, he lived 209 more years and had other sons and daughters.
20-21When Reu was thirty-two years old, he had Serug. After Reu had Serug, he lived 207 more years and had other sons and daughters.
22-23When Serug was thirty years old, he had Nahor. After Serug had Nahor, he lived 200 more years and had other sons and daughters.
24-25When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he had Terah. After Nahor had Terah, he lived 119 more years and had other sons and daughters.
26When Terah was seventy years old, he had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Family Tree of Terah
27-28This is the story of Terah. Terah had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Haran had Lot. Haran died before his father, Terah, in the country of his family, Ur of the Chaldees.
29Abram and Nahor each got married. Abram’s wife was Sarai; Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of his brother Haran. Haran had two daughters, Milcah and Iscah.
30Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and Sarai his daughter-in-law (his son Abram’s wife) and set out with them from Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. But when they got as far as Haran, they settled down there.
32Terah lived 205 years. He died in Haran.
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.