Genesis 11
Legacy Standard Bible
The Tower of Babel
11 Now the whole earth [a]had the same language and [b]the same words. 2 And it happened as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land (A)of Shinar and [c]settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and they had (B)tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top (C)will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves (D)a name, lest we (E)be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 (F)Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [d](G)the same language. And this is what they have begun to do. So now nothing which they purpose to do will be [e]impossible for them. 7 Come, (H)let Us go down and there (I)confuse their [f]language, so that they will not understand one another’s [g]language.” 8 So Yahweh (J)scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called [h](K)Babel, because there Yahweh confused the [i]language of the whole earth; and from there Yahweh scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
The Generations of Shem
10 (L)These are the generations of Shem. Shem was 100 years old and [j]became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived 500 years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
12 And Arpachshad lived 35 years and became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
14 And Shelah lived 30 years and became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
16 And Eber lived 34 years and became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
18 And Peleg lived 30 years and became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
20 And Reu lived 32 years and became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
22 And Serug lived 30 years and became the father of Nahor; 23 and Serug lived 200 years after he became the father of Nahor, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
24 Nahor lived 29 years and became the father of (M)Terah; 25 and Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.
26 And Terah lived 70 years and became (N)the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
The Generations of Terah
27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and (O)Haran became the father of (P)Lot. 28 And Haran died [k]in the presence of Terah his father 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 and the father of Iscah. 30 (U)And Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out [l]together from (V)Ur of the Chaldeans in order to go to the land of Canaan; and they came as far as Haran and [m]settled there. 32 And the days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.
Footnotes
- Genesis 11:1 Lit was one lip
- Genesis 11:1 Or one set of words
- Genesis 11:2 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 11:6 Lit one lip
- Genesis 11:6 Lit withheld from
- Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:9 Or Babylon
- Genesis 11:9 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:10 Lit begot, so in ch
- Genesis 11:28 Or during the lifetime of
- Genesis 11:31 Lit with them
- Genesis 11:31 Lit dwelt
Genesis 11
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Tower of Babel
11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east,[a] they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.(A) 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”(B) 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built.(C) 6 And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.(D) 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”(E) 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.(F) 9 Therefore it was called Babel,[b] 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.(G)
Descendants of Shem
10 These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood,(H) 11 and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachshad five hundred years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah, 13 and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred three years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber, 15 and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred three years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg, 17 and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred thirty years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu, 19 and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu two hundred nine years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug, 21 and Reu lived after the birth of Serug two hundred seven years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor, 23 and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah, 25 and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah one hundred nineteen years and had other sons and daughters.
26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Descendants of Terah
27 Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.(I)
31 Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.(J) 32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years, and Terah died in Haran.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.