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11 And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.

And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.

And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.

And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.

And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.

Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another's speech.

And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.

And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.

10 These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

11 And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

12 And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.

13 And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters.

14 Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber.

15 And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters.

16 And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg.

17 And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years: and begot sons and daughters.

18 Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

19 And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug.

21 And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

22 And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor.

23 And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years: and begot sons and daughters.

24 And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare.

25 And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years: and begot sons and daughters.

26 And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Aran.

27 And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot.

28 And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor's wife, Melcha, the daughter of Aran, father of Melcha, and father of Jescha.

30 And Sarai was barren, and had no children.

31 And Thare took Abram, his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years, and he died in Haran.

11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

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.

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.

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.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

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.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

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.

The Tower of Babel

11 Now all the earth [a]used the same language and [b]the same words. And it came about, as they journeyed [c]east, that they found a plain in the land (A)of Shinar and [d]settled there. Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and [e]fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used (B)tar for mortar. And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top (C)will reach into heaven, and let’s make (D)a name for ourselves; otherwise we (E)will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” Now (F)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the [f]men had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [g](G)the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be [h]impossible for them. Come, [i](H)let Us go down and there (I)confuse their [j]language, so that they will not understand one another’s [k]speech.” So the Lord (J)scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore it was named [l](K)Babel, because there the Lord confused the [m]language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

10 (L)These are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; 15 and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; 17 and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; 19 and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; 21 and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; 23 and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered (M)Terah; 25 and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and (N)fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and (O)Haran fathered (P)Lot. 28 Haran died [n]during the lifetime of his father Terah 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 [o]and Iscah. 30 (U)Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

31 Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed [p]together from (V)Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and [q]settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:1 Lit was one lip
  2. Genesis 11:1 Or few or one set of words
  3. Genesis 11:2 Or from the east
  4. Genesis 11:2 Lit dwelt
  5. Genesis 11:3 I.e., in a kiln to harden them
  6. Genesis 11:5 Lit sons of mankind
  7. Genesis 11:6 Lit one lip
  8. Genesis 11:6 Lit inaccessible to
  9. Genesis 11:7 I.e., indicating united action, not a request
  10. Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
  11. Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
  12. Genesis 11:9 Or Babylon; cf. Heb balal, confuse
  13. Genesis 11:9 Lit lip
  14. Genesis 11:28 Lit before the face of
  15. Genesis 11:29 Lit and the father of
  16. Genesis 11:31 Lit with them
  17. Genesis 11:31 Lit dwelt

The Tower of Babel

11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east,[a] they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 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.’ The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 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. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused[b] the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

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; 11 and Shem lived after the birth of Arpachshad for five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived for thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived after the birth of Shelah for four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived for thirty years, he became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber for four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived for thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg for four hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived for thirty years, he became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived after the birth of Reu for two hundred and nine years, and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived for thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived after the birth of Serug for two hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived for thirty years, he became the father of Nahor; 23 and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor for two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived for twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah; 25 and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah for one hundred and nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.

26 When Terah had lived for 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.

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. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:2 Or migrated eastward
  2. Genesis 11:9 Heb balal, meaning to confuse