Genesis 11
1 At that time the whole world spoke just one language and used words with the same meaning.
At first, all the people in [MTY] the world spoke the same language [DOU].
2 As they moved east they discovered a plain in the land of Shinar so they settled there.
As people moved further east, they arrived at a plain in Babylonia region and began to live there.
3 They said to one another, “Come on, let's make some bricks and bake them with fire.” (They used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of cement).
Then they said to each other, “(Hey/Come on), let’s form bricks and bake them to make them hard, for building!” So they used bricks instead of stones, and used tar instead of (mortar/a mixture of cement, sand and lime) to hold them together.
4 Then they said, “Now let's build a city for ourselves with a tower whose top reaches the heavens. That way we'll gain a great reputation and we won't end up being scattered all over the world.”
They said, “Hey, let’s build a city for ourselves! We also ought to build a very high tower that reaches up to the sky! In that way we will become famous! If we do not do this, we will be scattered all over the earth!”
5 But the Lord came down to take a look at the city and the tower that the people were building.
So they began to build the city and the tower. Then Yahweh looked down and saw the city and the tower that those [puny] men were building.
6 The Lord said, “Look! These people are united and they all speak one language. If this is what they can do now when they're just getting started, nothing will be impossible for them when they all put their minds to it!
Yahweh said, “These people are one group that all speak the same language. If they have begun to do this now, then (there is nothing that they will decide to do that will be impossible for them/they will be able to do whatever they decide to do) [LIT]!
7 We need to go down and mix up their language and make it confused so they won't be able to understand what they're saying to one other.”
So, okay/now, we will go down there and cause there to be many different languages, so that they will not be able to understand each other.”
8 The Lord sent them away from there and scattered them all over the world, and they gave up building the city.
So Yahweh did that. As a result, the people stopped building the city, and Yahweh caused them to disperse all over the earth.
9 That's why it was called Babel, because the Lord made the language of the world confused.
The city was called Babel which means ‘confusion’, because there Yahweh caused the people to become confused because the people [MTY] spoke [different languages that the others could not understand], not just one language. From there Yahweh caused them to disperse all over the earth.
10 The following is the genealogy of Shem. When Shem was 100, he had Arphaxad. This was two years after the flood.
(This is a bigger list/I will now tell you more) of the descendants of Shem: Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad.
11 Shem lived another 500 years after Arphaxad was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Arpachshad was born, Shem lived 500 more years and had more sons and daughters.
12 When Arphaxad was 35, he had Shelah.
When Arphachshad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.
13 Arphaxad lived another 403 years after Shelah was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Shelah was born, Arpachshad lived 403 more years and became the father of more sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah was 30, he had Eber.
When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.
15 Shelah lived another 403 years after Eber was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber was 34, he had Peleg.
When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.
17 Eber lived another 430 years after Peleg was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg was 30, he had Reu.
When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.
19 Peleg lived another 209 years after Reu was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu was 32, he had Serug.
When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.
21 Reu lived another 207 years after Serug was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug was 30, he had Nahor.
When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.
23 Serug lived another 200 years after Nahor was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor was 29, he had Terah.
When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.
25 Nahor lived another 119 years after Terah was born and had other sons and daughters.
After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
26 When Terah was 70, he had Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
When Terah was 70 years old, his son Abram was born. Later, two other sons, Nahor and Haran were born.
27 The following is the genealogy of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.
(This is/I will now give) a list of the descendants of Terah: Terah’s sons were Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran’s son was named Lot.
28 However, Haran died while his father, Terah, was still alive, in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth.
Haran died before his father died. He died in Ur [city] in Chaldea land, where he was born.
29 Abram and Nahor both got married. 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).
Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. Milcah and her younger sister Iscah were the daughters of Haran.
30 Sarai wasn't able to become pregnant and so had no children.
Sarai was unable to bear any children.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, (who was the son of Haran), his daughter-in-law Sarai, (the wife of his son Abram), and left Ur of the Chaldeans to move to the land of Canaan. They got as far as Haran and settled there.
Terah decided to leave Ur and go to live in Canaan land. So he took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and Abram’s wife Sarai with him. But instead of going to Canaan, they stopped at Haran [town] and lived there.
32 Terah lived for 205 years and died in Haran.
When Terah was 205 years old, he died there in Haran.
