Genesis 11
EasyEnglish Bible
The tower in Babel
11 At this time, everyone who lived on the earth spoke one language. They used the same words. 2 People moved to the east. They reached a large flat piece of land called Shinar. They stayed there to live. 3 They said to each other, ‘We should make bricks and cook them until they are hard.’ These people used bricks instead of stones to build houses. They used tar to hold the bricks together, instead of cement.[a]
4 They said, ‘Let us build a city to live in. We should also build a very tall tower. The tower will go up into the heavens. Then we will always be famous. If we do that, we will not have to separate and go to live in different places on the earth.’
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. He saw that the people had started to build them. 6 The Lord said, ‘Because they all speak the same language, they are able to do this. If they can do this together, they may decide to do whatever they want. 7 Now we must go down to them. We must make their language become confused. Then they will not be able to understand each other.’
8 So the Lord separated the people from one another. They went to live in different lands all over the earth. They stopped building the city for themselves. 9 That is why people called the city Babel.[b] It was because the Lord confused all the people of the world and he gave them different languages to speak. From that time, the Lord separated the people from each other so that they lived in different places all over the earth.
Shem's family
10 This is the report about Shem and his family.
Two years after the deep water went away from the earth, Shem was 100 years old. He became the father of Arphaxad. 11 After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived for 500 years. He had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah. 13 After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived for 403 years. He had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber. 15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived for 403 years. He had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg. 17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived for 430 years. He had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu. 19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived for 209 years. He had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug. 21 After Serug was born, Reu lived for 207 years. He had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor. 23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived for 200 years. He had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah. 25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived for 119 years. He had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
Terah's family
27 This is the report about Terah and his family.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot. 28 While Terah was still alive, his son, Haran, died. Haran died in Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. That was where Haran had been born.
29 Abram married Sarai. Nahor married Milcah. Milcah was Haran's daughter. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai could not give birth to children. She did not have any children.
31 Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot. (Lot was Haran's son.) Terah also took Abram's wife Sarai. They all left Ur, the land of the Chaldeans. They began to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they stayed there. 32 Terah lived for 205 years. Then he died in Haran.
Genesis 11
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Tower of Babylon
11 At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.[a] 2 As people[b] migrated from the east,[c] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.(A) 3 They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.(B) 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.(C) Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 Then the Lord came down(D) to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down there and confuse[d] their language[e] so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”[f] 8 So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth,(E) and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babylon,[g](F) for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
From Shem to Abram
10 These are the family records(G) of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11 After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 12 Arpachshad lived 35 years[h] and fathered Shelah. 13 After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 14 Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber. 15 After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 16 Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg. 17 After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 18 Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu. 19 After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 20 Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug. 21 After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 22 Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor. 23 After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 24 Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah.(H) 25 After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters. 26 Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27 These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah’s lifetime. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sarai,(I) and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah.(J) She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai was unable to conceive;(K) she did not have a child.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans(L) to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.
Footnotes
- Genesis 11:1 Lit one lip and the same words
- Genesis 11:2 Lit they
- Genesis 11:2 Or migrated eastward
- Genesis 11:7 Or confound
- Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:7 Lit understand each man the lip of his companion
- Genesis 11:9 In Hb, the name Babylon sounds like the word “confuse.”
- Genesis 11:12 LXX reads years and fathered Cainan. 13 After he fathered Cainan, Arphachshad lived 430 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters, and he died. Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and fathered [other] sons and daughters, and he died; Gn 10:24; Lk 3:35-36
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.