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.

The Call of Abram

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household^(AU) to the land^(AV) I will show you.^(AW)

⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot^(BC) went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old^(BD) when he set out from Harran.^{(BE) 5} He took his wife Sarai,^(BF) his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated^(BG) and the people^(BH) they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan,^(BI) and they arrived there.

⁶ Abram traveled through the land^(BJ) as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh^(BK) at Shechem.^(BL) At that time the Canaanites^(BM) were in the land. ⁷ The Lord appeared to Abram^(BN) and said, “To your offspring^[h] I will give this land.^(BO)”^(BP) So he built an altar there to the Lord,^(BQ) who had appeared to him.

⁸ From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel^(BR) and pitched his tent,^(BS) with Bethel on the west and Ai^(BT) on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.^(BU)

⁹ Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev.^(BV)

Abram in Egypt^(BW)

¹⁰ Now there was a famine in the land,^(BX) and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.^{(BY) 11} As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai,^(BZ) “I know what a beautiful woman^(CA) you are. ¹² When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. ¹³ Say you are my sister,^(CB) so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.”

¹⁴ When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.^{(CC) 15} And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. ¹⁶ He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels.^(CD)

¹⁷ But the Lord inflicted^(CE) serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household^(CF) because of Abram’s wife Sarai. ¹⁸ So Pharaoh summoned Abram. “What have you done to me?”^(CG) he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?^{(CH) 19} Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’^(CI) so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!” ²⁰ Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Psalm 14^(A)

For the director of music. Of David.

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

Psalm 16

A miktam^[b] of David.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy^(A)

8 When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. ² A man with leprosy^[a](B) came and knelt before him^(C) and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

³ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. ⁴ Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone.^(D) But go, show yourself to the priest^(E) and offer the gift Moses commanded,^(F) as a testimony to them.”

The Faith of the Centurion^(G)

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed,^(H) suffering terribly.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.^{(I) 9} For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.^{(J) 11} I say to you that many will come from the east and the west,^(K) and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.^{(L) 12} But the subjects of the kingdom^(M) will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”^(N)

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.”^(O) And his servant was healed at that moment.

Jesus Heals Many^(P)

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.^{(Q) 17} This was to fulfill^(R) what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

The Cost of Following Jesus^(T)

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.^{(U) 19} Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man^(V) has no place to lay his head.”

²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me,^(W) and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Jesus Calms the Storm^(X)(Y)

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith,^(Z) why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.^(AA)

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Jesus Restores Two Demon-Possessed Men^(AB)

²⁸ When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,^[c] two demon-possessed^(AC) men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ “What do you want with us,^(AD) Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”^(AE)

³⁰ Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

³² He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. ³³ Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.^(AF)