Genesis 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.

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Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

1The whole world had only one language, and everyone spoke it. 2They moved to the east and found a broad valley in Babylon. There they made their home.

3They said to one another, “Come on! Let’s make bricks and bake them well.” They used bricks instead of stones. They used tar to hold the bricks together. 4Then they said, “Come on! Let’s build a city for ourselves. Let’s build a tower that reaches to the sky. We’ll make a name for ourselves. Then we won’t be scattered over the whole earth.”

5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6He said, “All these people are united and speak the same language. That is why they can do all this. Now they will be able to do anything they plan. 7Come on! Let us go down and mix up their language. Then they will not be able to understand one another.”

8So the Lord scattered them from there over the whole earth. And they stopped building the city. 9There the Lord mixed up the language of the whole world. That’s why the city was called Babel. From there the Lord scattered them over the whole earth.

The Family Line of Shem

10Here is the story of Shem’s family line.

It was two years after the flood. When Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25After Terah was born, Nahor lived 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 Line of Abram

27Here is the story of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28Haran died in the city of Ur in Babylonia, the land where he was born. Haran died while his father Terah was still alive. 29Abram and Nahor both got married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. The name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milkah and Iscah. 30But Sarai wasn’t able to have children.

31Terah left Ur in Babylon. He took with him his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. Terah also took his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram. All of them left together to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they made their home there.

32Terah lived for 205 years. And then he died in Harran.

Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®

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