Genesis 11
Lexham English Bible
The Tower of Babel
11 Now[a] the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated[b] from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to each other,[c] “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.”[d] And they had brick for stone and they had tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top reaches to the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 Then[e] Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that humankind[f] was building. 6 And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people with one language,[g] and this is only the beginning of what they will do.[h] So[i] now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand each other’s language.”[j] 8 So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, for there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth, and there Yahweh scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
The Descendants of Shem
10 These are the generations[k] of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old,[l] he fathered Arphaxad, two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arphaxad, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 12 When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Descendants of Terah
27 Now[m] these are the generations[n] of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. 28 And Haran died in the presence of Terah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of the wife of Abram was Sarai, and the name of the wife of Nahor was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 And Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson,[o] and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. And they went to Haran, and they settled there. 32 And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.
Footnotes
- Genesis 11:1 Or “And”
- Genesis 11:2 Or “set out”
- Genesis 11:3 Literally “each to his companion”
- Genesis 11:3 Literally “burn to burning”
- Genesis 11:5 Or “And”
- Genesis 11:5 Literally “sons of Adam” or “sons of humankind”
- Genesis 11:6 Literally “one people and one language to all of them”
- Genesis 11:6 Literally “and this they begin to do”
- Genesis 11:6 Or “And”
- Genesis 11:7 Literally “each the language of his companion”
- Genesis 11:10 Or “family records”
- Genesis 11:10 Literally “the son of one hundred years”
- Genesis 11:27 Or “And”
- Genesis 11:27 Or “family records”
- Genesis 11:31 Literally “the son of his son”
Genesis 11
The Message
“God Turned Their Language into ‘Babble’”
11 1-2 At 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.
3 They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and fire them well.” They used brick for stone and tar for mortar.
4 Then 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.
* * *
10-11 This 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.
12-13 When Arphaxad was thirty-five years old, he had Shelah. After Arphaxad had Shelah, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
14-15 When Shelah was thirty years old, he had Eber. After Shelah had Eber, he lived 403 more years and had other sons and daughters.
16-17 When Eber was thirty-four years old, he had Peleg. After Eber had Peleg, he lived 430 more years and had other sons and daughters.
18-19 When Peleg was thirty years old, he had Reu. After he had Reu, he lived 209 more years and had other sons and daughters.
20-21 When Reu was thirty-two years old, he had Serug. After Reu had Serug, he lived 207 more years and had other sons and daughters.
22-23 When Serug was thirty years old, he had Nahor. After Serug had Nahor, he lived 200 more years and had other sons and daughters.
24-25 When Nahor was twenty-nine years old, he had Terah. After Nahor had Terah, he lived 119 more years and had other sons and daughters.
26 When Terah was seventy years old, he had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Family Tree of Terah
27-28 This 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.
29 Abram 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.
30 Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31 Terah 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.
32 Terah lived 205 years. He died in Haran.
Génesis 11
La Biblia de las Américas
La torre de Babel
11 Toda la tierra hablaba la misma lengua[a] y las mismas[b] palabras. 2 Y aconteció que según iban hacia el oriente, hallaron una llanura en la tierra de Sinar(A), y se establecieron[c] allí. 3 Y se dijeron unos a otros: Vamos, fabriquemos ladrillos y cozámoslos bien. Y usaron ladrillo en lugar de piedra, y asfalto(B) en lugar de mezcla. 4 Y dijeron: Vamos, edifiquémonos una ciudad y una torre cuya cúspide llegue hasta los cielos(C), y hagámonos un nombre famoso(D), para que no seamos dispersados(E) sobre la faz de toda la tierra. 5 Y el Señor descendió(F) para ver la ciudad y la torre que habían edificado los hijos de los hombres. 6 Y dijo el Señor: He aquí, son un solo pueblo y todos ellos tienen la misma lengua[d](G). Y esto es lo que han comenzado a hacer, y ahora nada de lo que se propongan hacer les será imposible[e]. 7 Vamos, bajemos(H) y allí confundamos su lengua[f](I), para que nadie entienda el lenguaje[g] del otro. 8 Así los dispersó el Señor desde allí sobre la faz de toda la tierra(J), y dejaron de edificar la ciudad. 9 Por eso fue llamada Babel[h](K), porque allí confundió el Señor la lengua[i] de toda la tierra; y de allí los dispersó el Señor sobre la faz de toda la tierra.
Descendientes de Sem
10 (L)Estas son las generaciones de Sem: Sem tenía cien años, y engendró a Arfaxad dos años después del diluvio. 11 Y vivió Sem quinientos años después de haber engendrado a Arfaxad, y engendró hijos e hijas.
12 Arfaxad vivió treinta y cinco años, y engendró a Sala. 13 Y vivió Arfaxad cuatrocientos tres años después de haber engendrado a Sala, y engendró hijos e hijas.
14 Sala vivió treinta años, y engendró a Heber. 15 Y vivió Sala cuatrocientos tres años después de haber engendrado a Heber, y engendró hijos e hijas.
16 Heber vivió treinta y cuatro años, y engendró a Peleg. 17 Y vivió Heber cuatrocientos treinta años después de haber engendrado a Peleg, y engendró hijos e hijas.
18 Peleg vivió treinta años, y engendró a Reu. 19 Y vivió Peleg doscientos nueve años después de haber engendrado a Reu, y tuvo hijos e hijas.
20 Reu vivió treinta y dos años, y engendró a Serug. 21 Y vivió Reu doscientos siete años después de haber engendrado a Serug, y engendró hijos e hijas.
22 Serug vivió treinta años, y engendró a Nacor. 23 Y vivió Serug doscientos años después de haber engendrado a Nacor, y engendró hijos e hijas.
24 Nacor vivió veintinueve años, y engendró a Taré(M). 25 Y vivió Nacor ciento diecinueve años después de haber engendrado a Taré, y engendró hijos e hijas.
26 Taré vivió setenta años, y engendró a Abram(N), a Nacor y a Harán.
Descendientes de Taré
27 Estas son las generaciones de Taré: Taré engendró a Abram, a Nacor y a Harán(O); y Harán engendró a Lot(P). 28 Y murió Harán en presencia de[j] su padre Taré en la tierra de su nacimiento, en Ur de los caldeos(Q). 29 Y Abram y Nacor(R) tomaron para sí mujeres. El nombre de la mujer de Abram era Sarai(S), y el nombre de la mujer de Nacor, Milca(T), hija de Harán, padre de Milca y de[k] Isca. 30 Y Sarai era estéril(U); no tenía hijo. 31 Y Taré tomó a Abram su hijo, a su nieto Lot, hijo de Harán, y a Sarai su nuera, mujer de su hijo Abram; y salieron juntos[l] de Ur de los caldeos(V), en dirección a la tierra de Canaán; y llegaron hasta Harán, y se establecieron[m] allí. 32 Los días de Taré fueron doscientos cinco años; y murió Taré en Harán.
Footnotes
- Génesis 11:1 Lit., era de un mismo labio
- Génesis 11:1 Lit., y de pocas
- Génesis 11:2 Lit., habitaron
- Génesis 11:6 Lit., son de un mismo labio
- Génesis 11:6 Lit., se les podrá impedir
- Génesis 11:7 Lit., labio
- Génesis 11:7 Lit., labio
- Génesis 11:9 O, Babilonia; posiblemente del heb., balal; i.e., confundir
- Génesis 11:9 Lit., el labio
- Génesis 11:28 O, en vida de
- Génesis 11:29 Lit., y el padre de
- Génesis 11:31 Lit., con ellos
- Génesis 11:31 Lit., habitaron
Genesis 11
New International Version
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
- Genesis 11:2 Or from the east; or in the east
- Genesis 11:2 That is, Babylonia
- Genesis 11:9 That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused.
- Genesis 11:10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25.
- 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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