Old/New Testament
A List of Nations
10 Here is the story of Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were Noah’s sons. After the flood, they also had sons.
The Sons of Japheth
2 The sons of Japheth were
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshek and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer were
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan were
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittites and the Rodanites. 5 From these people came the families who lived near the Mediterranean Sea. Each tribe and nation then spread out into its own territory and had its own language.
The Sons of Ham
6 The sons of Ham were
Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush were
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteka.
The sons of Raamah were
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father of Nimrod. Nimrod became a mighty hero on the earth. 9 He was a mighty hunter in the Lord’s eyes. That’s why people sometimes compare others with Nimrod. They say, “They are like Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter in the Lord’s eyes.” 10 The first capital cities of Nimrod’s kingdom were Babylon, Uruk, Akkad and Kalneh. These cities were in the land of Babylon. 11 From that land he went to Assyria. There he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir and Calah. 12 He also built Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah. Nineveh is the most famous city.
13 Egypt was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Kasluhites and Caphtorites. The Philistines came from the Kasluhites.
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon.
Sidon was his oldest son. Canaan was also the father of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites and Girgashites. 17 And he was the father of the Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite tribes scattered. 19 The borders of Canaan reached from Sidon toward Gerar all the way to Gaza. Then they continued toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim all the way to Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham. They are listed by their tribes and languages in their territories and nations.
The Sons of Shem
21 Sons were also born to Shem, Japheth’s younger brother. All the sons of Eber belonged to Shem’s family line.
22 The sons of Shem were
Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram were
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshek.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah.
Shelah was the father of Eber.
25 Eber had two sons.
One was named Peleg. That’s because the earth was divided up in his time. His brother was named Joktan.
26 Joktan was the father of
Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. They were all sons of Joktan.
30 The area where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar. It was in the eastern hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem. They are listed by their tribes and languages in their territories and nations.
32 These are the tribes of Noah’s sons. They are listed by their family lines within their nations. From them the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.
The Tower of Babel
11 The whole world had only one language, and everyone spoke it. 2 They moved to the east and found a broad valley in Babylon. There they made their home.
3 They said to one another, “Come on! Let’s make bricks and bake them well.” They used bricks instead of stones. They used tar to hold the bricks together. 4 Then they said, “Come on! Let’s build a city for ourselves. Let’s build a tower that reaches to the sky. We’ll make a name for ourselves. Then we won’t be scattered over the whole earth.”
5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 He said, “All these people are united and speak the same language. That is why they can do all this. Now they will be able to do anything they plan. 7 Come on! Let us go down and mix up their language. Then they will not be able to understand one another.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over the whole earth. And they stopped building the city. 9 There the Lord mixed up the language of the whole world. That’s why the city was called Babel. From there the Lord scattered them over the whole earth.
The Family Line of Shem
10 Here is the story of Shem’s family line.
It was two years after the flood. When Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad. 11 After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. 15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. 19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. 21 After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
The Family Line of Abram
27 Here is the story of Terah’s family line.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the city of Ur in Babylonia, the land where he was born. Haran died while his father Terah was still alive. 29 Abram and Nahor both got married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. The name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah, the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milkah and Iscah. 30 But Sarai wasn’t able to have children.
31 Terah left Ur in Babylon. He took with him his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. Terah also took his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram. All of them left together to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they made their home there.
32 Terah lived for 205 years. And then he died in Harran.
God Chooses Abram
12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation.
And I will bless you.
I will make your name great.
You will be a blessing to others.
3 I will bless those who bless you.
I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you.
All nations on earth
will be blessed because of you.”
4 So Abram went, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all the people and possessions they had acquired in Harran. They started out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.
6 Abram traveled through the land. He went as far as the large tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were living in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, “I will give this land to your family who comes after you.” So Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there, Abram went on toward the hills east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.
9 Then Abram left and continued south toward the Negev Desert.
Abram Goes to Egypt
10 At that time there was not enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he spoke to his wife Sarai. He said, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 12 The people of Egypt will see you and say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me. But they will let you live. 13 Tell them you are my sister. Then I’ll be treated well and my life will be spared because of you.”
14 Abram arrived in Egypt. The Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15 When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they told Pharaoh how beautiful she was. So she was taken into his palace. 16 Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her. So Abram gained more sheep and cattle and male and female donkeys. He also gained more male and female servants and some camels.
17 But the Lord sent terrible sicknesses on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. The Lord did it because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say she was your sister? That’s why I took her to be my wife. Now then, here’s your wife. Take her and go!” 20 Then Pharaoh gave orders to his men about Abram. They sent him on his way. So he left with his wife and everything he had.
Jesus Is Tempted in the Desert
4 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him. 2 After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written, ‘Man must not live only on bread. He must also live on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 8:3)
5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. It is written,
“ ‘The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you.
They will lift you up in their hands.
Then you won’t trip over a stone.’ ” (Psalm 91:11,12)
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:16)
8 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “If you bow down and worship me,” he said, “I will give you all this.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
11 Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him.
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee. 13 Jesus left Nazareth and went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,
15 “Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali!
Galilee, where Gentiles live!
Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!
16 The people who are now living in darkness
have seen a great light.
They are now living in a very dark land.
But a light has shined on them.” (Isaiah 9:1,2)
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach. “Turn away from your sins!” he said. “The kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Jesus Chooses His First Disciples
18 One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers, Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake, because they were fishermen. 19 “Come and follow me,” Jesus said. “I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them. 22 Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals Sick People
23 Jesus went all over Galilee. There he taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He healed every illness and sickness the people had. 24 News about him spread all over Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn’t move at all. And Jesus healed all of them. 25 Large crowds followed him. People came from Galilee, from the area known as the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Others came from the area across the Jordan River.
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.