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.
Genesis 11
English Standard Version
The Tower of Babel
11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in (A)the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, (B)and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower (C)with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And (D)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, (E)let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So (F)the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called (G)Babel, because there the Lord confused[a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Shem's Descendants
10 (H)These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. 13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. 15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. 17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. 19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. 21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. 23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When (I)Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. 25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 When (J)Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Terah's Descendants
27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was (K)Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, (L)Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
31 Terah (M)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 forth together (N)from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.
Footnotes
- Genesis 11:9 Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused
Gênesis 11
Nova Traduҫão na Linguagem de Hoje 2000
A torre de Babel
11 Naquele tempo todos os povos falavam uma língua só, todos usavam as mesmas palavras. 2 Alguns partiram do Oriente e chegaram a uma planície em Sinar, onde ficaram morando. 3 Um dia disseram uns aos outros:
— Vamos, pessoal! Vamos fazer tijolos queimados!
Assim, eles tinham tijolos para construir, em vez de pedras, e usavam piche, em vez de massa de pedreiro. 4 Aí disseram:
— Agora vamos construir uma cidade que tenha uma torre que chegue até o céu. Assim ficaremos famosos e não seremos espalhados pelo mundo inteiro.
5 Então o Senhor desceu para ver a cidade e a torre que aquela gente estava construindo. 6 O Senhor disse assim:
— Essa gente é um povo só, e todos falam uma só língua. Isso que eles estão fazendo é apenas o começo. Logo serão capazes de fazer o que quiserem. 7 Vamos descer e atrapalhar a língua que eles falam, a fim de que um não entenda o que o outro está dizendo.
8 Assim, o Senhor os espalhou pelo mundo inteiro, e eles pararam de construir a cidade. 9 A cidade recebeu o nome de Babel, pois ali o Senhor atrapalhou a língua falada por todos os moradores da terra e dali os espalhou pelo mundo inteiro.
Os descendentes de Sem(A)
10 São estes os descendentes de Sem. Dois anos depois do dilúvio, quando Sem tinha cem anos, nasceu o seu filho Arpaxade. 11 Depois disso Sem viveu mais quinhentos anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
12 Quando tinha trinta e cinco anos, Arpaxade foi pai de um filho chamado Selá. 13 Depois disso Arpaxade viveu mais quatrocentos e três anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
14 Quando Selá tinha trinta anos, nasceu o seu filho Éber. 15 Depois disso Selá viveu mais quatrocentos e três anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
16 Quando Éber tinha trinta e quatro anos, nasceu o seu filho Pelegue. 17 Depois disso Éber viveu mais quatrocentos e trinta anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
18 Quando tinha trinta anos, Pelegue foi pai de um filho chamado Reú. 19 Depois disso Pelegue viveu mais duzentos e nove anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
20 Quando Reú tinha trinta e dois anos, nasceu o seu filho Serugue. 21 Depois disso Reú viveu mais duzentos e sete anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
22 Quando Serugue tinha trinta anos, nasceu o seu filho Naor. 23 Depois disso Serugue viveu mais duzentos anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
24 Quando Naor tinha vinte e nove anos, nasceu o seu filho Tera. 25 Depois disso Naor viveu mais cento e dezenove anos e foi pai de outros filhos e filhas.
26 Depois que completou setenta anos de idade, Tera foi pai de três filhos: Abrão, Naor e Harã.
Os descendentes de Tera
27 São estes os descendentes de Tera, que foi o pai de Abrão, de Naor e de Harã. Harã foi o pai de Ló. 28 Tera ainda vivia quando o seu filho Harã morreu na Babilônia, na cidade de Ur, onde havia nascido.
29 Abrão casou com Sarai, e Naor casou com Milca. Milca e Iscá eram filhas de Harã. 30 Sarai não tinha filhos, pois era estéril.
31 Tera saiu da cidade de Ur, na Babilônia, para ir até a terra de Canaã, e levou junto o seu filho Abrão, o seu neto Ló, que era filho de Harã, e a sua nora Sarai, que era mulher de Abrão. Eles chegaram até Harã e ficaram morando ali. 32 E Tera morreu em Harã, com a idade de duzentos e cinco anos.
Genesis 11
King James Version
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.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright 2000 Sociedade Bíblica do Brasil. Todos os direitos reservados / All rights reserved.