The Tower of Babel

11 Now the whole earth had one language and one ^[a]speech. ² And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land ^(A)of Shinar, and they dwelt there. ³ Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and ^[b]bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. ⁴ And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower ^(B)whose top is in the heavens; let us make a ^(C)name for ourselves, lest we ^(D)be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

^5 (E)But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. ⁶ And the Lord said, “Indeed ^(F)the people are one and they all have ^(G)one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they ^(H)propose to do will be withheld from them. ⁷ Come, ^(I)let Us go down and there ^(J)confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” ⁸ So ^(K)the Lord scattered them abroad from there ^(L)over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. ⁹ Therefore its name is called ^[c]Babel, ^(M)because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Shem’s Descendants^(N)

^10 (O)This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood. ¹¹ After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

¹² Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, ^(P)and begot Salah. ¹³ After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

¹⁴ Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. ¹⁵ After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

^16 (Q)Eber lived thirty-four years, and begot ^(R)Peleg. ¹⁷ After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. ¹⁹ After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

²⁰ Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot ^(S)Serug. ²¹ After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

²² Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. ²³ After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

²⁴ Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begot ^(T)Terah. ²⁵ After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

²⁶ Now Terah lived seventy years, and ^(U)begot ^[d]Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

²⁷ This is the genealogy of Terah: Terah begot ^(V)Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot. ²⁸ And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹ Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wife was ^(W)Sarai,^[e] and the name of Nahor’s wife, ^(X)Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. ³⁰ But ^(Y)Sarai was barren; she had no child.

³¹ And Terah ^(Z)took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from ^(AA)Ur of the Chaldeans to go to ^(AB)the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. ³² So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.

Promises to Abram^(AC)

12 Now the ^(AD)Lord had said to Abram:

⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and ^(AL)the ^[f]people whom they had acquired ^(AM)in Haran, and they ^(AN)departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram ^(AO)passed through the land to the place of Shechem, ^(AP)as far as ^[g]the terebinth tree of Moreh. ^(AQ)And the Canaanites were then in the land.

^7 (AR)Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ^(AS)“To your ^[h]descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an ^(AT)altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. ⁸ And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and ^(AU)called on the name of the Lord. ⁹ So Abram journeyed, ^(AV)going on still toward the ^[i]South.

Abram in Egypt

¹⁰ Now there was ^(AW)a famine in the land, and Abram ^(AX)went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was ^(AY)severe in the land. ¹¹ And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “Indeed I know that you are ^(AZ)a woman of beautiful countenance. ¹² Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they ^(BA)will kill me, but they will let you live. ^13 (BB)Please say you are my ^(BC)sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that ^[j]I may live because of you.”

¹⁴ So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. ¹⁵ The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁶ He ^(BD)treated Abram well for her sake. He ^(BE)had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

¹⁷ But the Lord ^(BF)plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸ And Pharaoh called Abram and said, ^(BG)“What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” ^20 (BH)So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

The Safety of the Faithful

To the ^[a]Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said ^[a]to those of old, ^(A)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that whoever ^(B)looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ^29 (C)If your right eye causes you to ^[b]sin, ^(D)pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to ^[c]sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding^(E)

³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ^(F)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that ^(G)whoever divorces his wife for any reason except ^[d]sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Jesus Forbids Oaths

³³ “Again you have heard that ^(H)it was said to those of ^[e]old, ^(I)‘You shall not swear falsely, but ^(J)shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, ^(K)do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is ^(L)God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of ^(M)the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ^37 (N)But let ^[f]your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Go the Second Mile^(O)

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ^(P)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ^39 (Q)But I tell you not to resist an evil person. ^(R)But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. ⁴⁰ If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹ And whoever ^(S)compels you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴² Give to him who asks you, and ^(T)from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.

Love Your Enemies^(U)

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ^(V)‘You shall love your neighbor ^(W)and hate your enemy.’ ^44 [g]But I say to you, ^(X)love your enemies, bless those who curse you, ^(Y)do good to those who hate you, and pray ^(Z)for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for ^(AA)He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ^46 (AB)For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your ^[h]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the ^[i]tax collectors do so? ^48 (AC)Therefore you shall be perfect, just ^(AD)as your Father in heaven is perfect.