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Genesis 11

The tower in Babel

11 At this time, everyone who lived on the earth spoke one language. They used the same words. 2 People moved to the east. They reached a large flat piece of land called Shinar. They stayed there to live. 3 They said to each other, ‘We should make bricks and cook them until they are hard.’ These people used bricks instead of stones to build houses. They used tar to hold the bricks together, instead of cement. [ a ]

4 They said, ‘Let us build a city to live in. We should also build a very tall tower. The tower will go up into the heavens. Then we will always be famous. If we do that, we will not have to separate and go to live in different places on the earth.’

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. He saw that the people had started to build them. 6 The Lord said, ‘Because they all speak the same language, they are able to do this. If they can do this together, they may decide to do whatever they want. 7 Now we must go down to them. We must make their language become confused. Then they will not be able to understand each other.’

8 So the Lord separated the people from one another. They went to live in different lands all over the earth. They stopped building the city for themselves. 9 That is why people called the city Babel. [ b ] It was because the Lord confused all the people of the world and he gave them different languages to speak. From that time, the Lord separated the people from each other so that they lived in different places all over the earth.

Shem's family

10 This is the report about Shem and his family.

Two years after the deep water went away from the earth, Shem was 100 years old. He became the father of Arphaxad. 11 After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived for 500 years. He had other sons and daughters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived for 119 years. He had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

Terah's family

27 This is the report about Terah and his family.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While Terah was still alive, his son, Haran, died. Haran died in Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. That was where Haran had been born.

29 Abram married Sarai. Nahor married Milcah. Milcah was Haran's daughter. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai could not give birth to children. She did not have any children.

31 Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot. (Lot was Haran's son.) Terah also took Abram's wife Sarai. They all left Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. They began to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years. Then he died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. 11:3 Tar is black and sticky. It becomes soft when it is hot and hard when it is cold. Cement is a material that many people use today to fix stones and bricks together in buildings.
  2. 11:9 ‘Babel’ is like the word for ‘confused’.

The Tower of Babel

11 There was a time when the whole world spoke one language. Everyone used the same words. 2 Then people began to move from the East. They found a plain in the land of Babylonia and stayed there to live. 3 Then they said to each other, “Let’s make some bricks of clay and bake them in the fire.” Then they used these bricks as stones, and they used tar as mortar.

4 Then the people said, “Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower that will reach to the sky. Then we will be famous. This will keep us together so that we will not be scattered all over the earth.”

5 Then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. 6 The Lord said, “These people all speak the same language. And I see that they are joined together to do this work. This is only the beginning of what they can do. Soon they will be able to do anything they want. 7 Let’s go down and confuse their language. Then they will not understand each other.”

8 So people stopped building the city, and the Lord scattered them all over the earth. 9 That is the place where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. That is why it is called Babel. [ a ] And it was from there that the Lord caused the people to spread out to all the other places on earth.

The History of Shem’s Family

10 This is the history of Shem’s family. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. 11 After that Shem lived 500 years. He had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. 13 After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

14 After Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. 15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

16 After Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. 17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived another 430 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

18 After Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. 19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived another 209 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

20 After Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. 21 After Serug was born, Reu lived another 207 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

22 After Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. 23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived another 200 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

24 After Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. 25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived another 119 years. During that time he had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah was 70 years old, his sons Abram, Nahor, and Haran were born.

The History of Terah’s Family

27 This is the history of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in his hometown, Ur of Babylonia, [ b ] while his father Terah was still alive. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai. Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. Milcah was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai did not have any children because she was not able to have children.

31 Terah took his family and left Ur of Babylonia. They planned to travel to Canaan. Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife). They traveled to the city of Haran and decided to stay there. 32 Terah lived to be 205 years old. He died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:9 Babel Or “Babylon.” This is like a word meaning “confuse.”
  2. Genesis 11:28 Ur of Babylonia Literally, “Ur of the Chaldeans.” A city in southern Babylonia. Also in verse 31.

11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

11 And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

14 And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

15 And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17 And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19 And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

21 And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23 And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

24 And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25 And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And 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 with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

The Tower of Babel

11 Now all the earth [ a ] used the same language and [ b ] the same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed [ c ] east, that they found a plain in the land ( A ) of Shinar and [ d ] settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and [ e ] fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used ( B ) tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top ( C ) will reach into heaven, and let’s make ( D ) a name for ourselves; otherwise we ( E ) will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5 Now ( F ) the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the [ f ] men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [ g ] ( G ) the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be [ h ] impossible for them. 7 Come, [ i ] ( H ) let Us go down and there ( I ) confuse their [ j ] language, so that they will not understand one another’s [ k ] speech.” 8 So the Lord ( J ) scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named [ l ] ( K ) Babel, because there the Lord confused the [ m ] language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

10 ( L ) These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; 15 and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; 17 and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; 19 and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; 21 and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; 23 and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered ( M ) Terah; 25 and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and ( N ) fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and ( O ) Haran fathered ( P ) Lot. 28 Haran died [ n ] during the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in ( Q ) Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and ( R ) Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was ( S ) Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was ( T ) Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah [ o ] and Iscah. 30 ( U ) Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

31 Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed [ p ] together from ( V ) Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and [ q ] settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:1 Lit was one lip
  2. Genesis 11:1 Or few or one set of words
  3. Genesis 11:2 Or from the east
  4. Genesis 11:2 Lit dwelt
  5. Genesis 11:3 I.e., in a kiln to harden them
  6. Genesis 11:5 Lit sons of mankind
  7. Genesis 11:6 Lit one lip
  8. Genesis 11:6 Lit inaccessible to
  9. Genesis 11:7 I.e., indicating united action, not a request
  10. Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
  11. Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
  12. Genesis 11:9 Or Babylon ; cf. Heb balal , confuse
  13. Genesis 11:9 Lit lip
  14. Genesis 11:28 Lit before the face of
  15. Genesis 11:29 Lit and the father of
  16. Genesis 11:31 Lit with them
  17. Genesis 11:31 Lit dwelt

The Tower of Babel

11 Now the whole world had one language ( A ) and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, [ a ] they found a plain in Shinar [ b ] ( B ) and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks ( C ) and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, ( D ) and tar ( E ) for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, ( F ) so that we may make a name ( G ) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered ( H ) over the face of the whole earth.” ( I )

5 But the Lord came down ( J ) to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language ( K ) they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us ( L ) go down ( M ) and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” ( N )

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, ( O ) and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel [ c ] ( P ) —because there the Lord confused the language ( Q ) of the whole world. ( R ) From there the Lord scattered ( S ) them over the face of the whole earth.

From Shem to Abram ( T )

10 This is the account ( U ) of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father [ d ] of Arphaxad. ( V ) 11 And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. ( W ) 13 And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. [ e ]

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. ( X ) 15 And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. ( Y ) 17 And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. ( Z ) 19 And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. ( AA ) 21 And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. ( AB ) 23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. ( AC ) 25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, ( AD ) Nahor ( AE ) and Haran. ( AF )

Abram’s Family

27 This is the account ( AG ) of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor ( AH ) and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ( AI ) 28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, ( AJ ) in the land of his birth. 29 Abram and Nahor ( AK ) both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, ( AL ) and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; ( AM ) she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. 30 Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. ( AN )

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot ( AO ) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law ( AP ) Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans ( AQ ) to go to Canaan. ( AR ) But when they came to Harran, ( AS ) they settled there.

32 Terah ( AT ) lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:2 Or from the east ; or in the east
  2. Genesis 11:2 That is, Babylonia
  3. Genesis 11:9 That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused .
  4. Genesis 11:10 Father may mean ancestor ; also in verses 11-25.
  5. Genesis 11:13 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35, 36 and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. 13 And after he became the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters
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