Old/New Testament
Nations Grow and Spread
10 This is the family history of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham and Japheth. After the flood these three men had sons.
Japheth’s Sons
2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim[a] and Rodanim. 5 Those who lived in the lands around the Mediterranean Sea came from these sons of Japheth. All the families grew and became different nations. Each nation had its own land and its own language.
Ham’s Sons
6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim,[b] Put and Canaan.
7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca.
The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush also had a descendant named Nimrod. Nimrod became a very powerful man on earth. 9 He was a great hunter before the Lord. That is why people say someone is “like Nimrod, a great hunter before the Lord.” 10 At first Nimrod’s kingdom covered Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in the land of Babylonia. 11 From there he went to Assyria. There he built the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir and Calah. 12 He also built Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah.
13 Mizraim was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Casluhites and the people of Crete. (The Philistines came from the Casluhites.)
15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his first son and of Heth. 16 Canaan was also the father of the Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17 Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites. The families of the Canaanites scattered. 19 The land of the Canaanites reached from Sidon to Gerar as far as Gaza. And it reached to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20 All these people were the sons of Ham. All these families had their own languages, their own lands and their own nations.
Shem’s Sons
21 Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had sons. One of his descendants was the father of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.
23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech.
24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah. Shelah was the father of Eber. 25 Eber was the father of two sons. One son was named Peleg[c] because the earth was divided during his life. Eber’s other son 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. All these people were the sons of Joktan. 30 These people lived in the area between Mesha and Sephar in the hill country in the East.
31 These are the people from the family of Shem. They are arranged by families, languages, countries and nations.
32 This is the list of the families from the sons of Noah. They are arranged according to their nations. From these families came all the nations who spread across the earth after the flood.
The Languages Confused
11 At this time the whole world spoke one language. Everyone used the same words. 2 As people moved from the East, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia. They settled there to live.
3 They said to each other, “Let’s make bricks and bake them to make them hard.” So they used bricks instead of stones, and tar instead of mortar. 4 Then they said to each other, “Let’s build for ourselves a city and a tower. And let’s make the top of the tower reach high into the sky. We will become famous. If we do this, we will not be scattered over all the earth.”
5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. 6 The Lord said, “Now, these people are united. They all speak the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do. They will be able to do anything they want. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language. Then they will not be able to understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth. And they stopped building the city. 9 That is where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. So the place is called Babel.[d] So the Lord caused them to spread out from there over all the whole world.
The Story of Shem’s Family
10 This is the family history of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, his son Arphaxad was born. 11 After that, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son Shelah was born. 13 After that, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah was 30 years old, his son Eber was born. 15 After that, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber was 34 years old, his son Peleg was born. 17 After that, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg was 30 years old, his son Reu was born. 19 After that, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu was 32 years old, his son Serug was born. 21 After that, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug was 30 years old, his son Nahor was born. 23 After that, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor was 29 years old, his son Terah was born. 25 After that, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 After Terah was 70 years old, his sons Abram, Nahor and Haran were born.
The Story of Terah’s Family
27 This is the family history of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died while his father, Terah, was still alive. This happened in Ur in Babylonia, where he was born. 29 Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai. Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Sarai was not able to have children.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son) and his daughter-in-law Sarai (Abram’s wife). They moved out of Ur of Babylonia. They had planned to go to the land of Canaan. But when they reached the city of Haran, they settled there.
32 Terah lived to be 205 years old. Then he died in Haran.
God Calls Abram
12 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Leave your country, your relatives and your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation,
and I will bless you.
I will make you famous.
And you will be a blessing to others.
3 I will bless those who bless you.
I will place a curse on those who harm you.
And all the people on earth
will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram left Haran as the Lord had told him. And Lot went with him. At this time Abram was 75 years old. 5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot and everything they owned. They took all the servants they had gotten in Haran. They set out from Haran, planning to go to the land of Canaan. In time they arrived there.
6 Abram traveled through that land. He went as far as the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. The Canaanites were living in the land at that time. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram. The Lord said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 Then Abram traveled from Shechem to the mountain east of Bethel. And he set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. There Abram built another altar to the Lord and worshiped him. 9 After this, he traveled on toward southern Canaan.
Abram Goes to Egypt
10 At this time there was not much food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live because there was so little food. 11 Just before they arrived in Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know you are a very beautiful woman. 12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This woman is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but let you live. 13 Tell them you are my sister. Then things will go well with me. And I may be allowed to live because of you.”
14 So Abram went into Egypt. The people of Egypt saw that Sarai was very beautiful. 15 Some of the Egyptian officers saw her also. They told the king of Egypt how beautiful she was. They took her to the king’s palace. 16 The king was kind to Abram because he thought Abram was Sarai’s brother. He gave Abram sheep, cattle and male and female donkeys. Abram also was given male and female servants and camels.
17 But the Lord sent terrible diseases on the king and all the people in his house. This was because of Abram’s wife Sarai. 18 So the king sent for Abram. The king said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me Sarai was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I made her my wife. But now here is your wife. Take her and leave!” 20 Then the king commanded his men to make Abram leave Egypt. So Abram and his wife left with everything they owned.
The Temptation of Jesus
4 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. 3 The devil came to Jesus to tempt him. The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written in the Scriptures, ‘A person does not live only by eating bread. But a person lives by everything the Lord says.’”[a]
5 Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem. He put Jesus on a very high place of the Temple. 6 The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off. It is written in the Scriptures,
‘He has put his angels in charge of you.
They will catch you with their hands.
And you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” Psalm 91:11-12
7 Jesus answered him, “It also says in the Scriptures, ‘Do not test the Lord your God.’”[b]
8 Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain. He showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and all the great things that are in those kingdoms. 9 The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”
10 Jesus said to the devil, “Go away from me, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’”[c]
11 So the devil left Jesus. And then some angels came to Jesus and helped him.
Jesus Begins Work in Galilee
12 Jesus heard that John had been put in prison. So Jesus went back to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth and went and lived in Capernaum, a town near Lake Galilee. Capernaum is in the area near Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 Jesus did this to make true what the prophet Isaiah said:
15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali
are on the way to the sea.
They are along the Jordan River.
This is Galilee where the non-Jewish people live.
16 These people who live in darkness
will see a great light.
They live in a place that is very dark.
But a light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:1-2
Jesus Chooses Some Followers
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Change your hearts and lives, because the kingdom of heaven is coming soon.”
18 Jesus was walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Simon’s brother Andrew. The brothers were fishermen, and they were fishing in the lake with a net. 19 Jesus said, “Come follow me. I will make you fishermen for men.” 20 At once Simon and Andrew left their nets and followed him.
21 Jesus continued walking by Lake Galilee. He saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets to catch fish. Jesus told them to come with him. 22 At once they left the boat and their father, and they followed Jesus.
Jesus Teaches and Heals People
23 Jesus went everywhere in Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and preached the Good News about the kingdom of heaven. And he healed all the people’s diseases and sicknesses. 24 The news about Jesus spread all over Syria, and people brought all the sick to him. These sick people were suffering from different kinds of diseases and pain. Some were suffering very great pain, some had demons, some were epileptics,[d] and some were paralyzed. Jesus healed all of them. 25 Many people followed him. They came from Galilee, the Ten Towns,[e] Jerusalem, Judea, and the land across the Jordan River.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.