Genesis 11

Modern

Literal

The Tower of Babel

¹Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.

¹And all the earth had one language and one speech.

²And as people journeyed eastward,^a they found a plain in the land of Shinar^b and settled there.

²And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

³And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

³And they said, each man to his brother, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them for burning.” And the brick was to them for stone, and the tar was to them for the mortar.

⁴“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

⁴And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, and its top in the heavens, and let us make for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

⁵Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.

⁵And YHWH came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built.

⁶And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them.

⁶And YHWH said, “Behold, the people are one, and one language is to them all, and this they have begun to do. And now nothing will be restrained from them of all that they devise to do.

⁷Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

⁷Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language, so that one man may not understand the language of his companion.”

⁸So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

⁸And YHWH scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased to build the city.

⁹That is why it is called Babel,^a for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.

⁹Upon thus its name is called Babel, for there YHWH confused the language of all the earth, and from there YHWH scattered them over the face of all the earth.

Genealogy from Shem to Abram

¹⁰This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

¹⁰These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a son of a hundred years, and he begat Arphaxad two years after the flood.

¹¹And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹¹And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

¹²When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.

¹²And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and he begat Shelah.

¹³And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.^a

¹³And Arphaxad lived after he begat Shelah three years and four hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

¹⁴When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.

¹⁴And Shelah lived thirty years, and he begat Eber.

¹⁵And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁵And Shelah lived after he begat Eber three years and four hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

¹⁶When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.

¹⁶And Eber lived four and thirty years, and he begat Peleg.

¹⁷And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁷And Eber lived after he begat Peleg thirty years and four hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

¹⁸When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.

¹⁸And Peleg lived thirty years, and he begat Reu.

¹⁹And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁹And Peleg lived after he begat Reu nine years and two hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

²⁰When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.

²⁰And Reu lived two and thirty years, and he begat Serug.

²¹And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²¹And Reu lived after he begat Serug seven years and two hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

²²When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.

²²And Serug lived thirty years, and he begat Nahor.

²³And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²³And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

²⁴When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.

²⁴And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and he begat Terah.

²⁵And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁵And Nahor lived after he begat Terah nine and ten years and a hundred years, and he begat sons and daughters.

²⁶When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁶And Terah lived seventy years, and he begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

²⁷This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

²⁷And these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran begat Lot.

²⁸During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

²⁸And Haran died before the face of Terah his father, in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

²⁹And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah.

²⁹And Abram and Nahor took for themselves wives; the name of the wife of Abram was Sarai; and the name of the wife of Nahor was Milcah daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.

³⁰But Sarai was barren; she had no children.

³⁰And Sarai was barren; she had no child.

³¹And Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai the wife of Abram, and they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they arrived in Haran, they settled there.

³¹And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot son of Haran, the son of his son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of his son Abram, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. And they came as far as Haran and they dwelt there.

³²Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.

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