Genesis 11
1 At first, all the people in [MTY] the world spoke the same language [DOU].
Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.
2 As people moved further east, they arrived at a plain in Babylonia region and began to live there.
And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3 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.
And 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.
4 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!”
“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.”
5 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.
Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.
6 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]!
And 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.
7 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.”
Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8 So Yahweh did that. As a result, the people stopped building the city, and Yahweh caused them to disperse all over the earth.
So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9 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.
That is why it is called Babel, 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.
10 (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.
This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
11 After Arpachshad was born, Shem lived 500 more years and had more sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphachshad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.
When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.
13 After Shelah was born, Arpachshad lived 403 more years and became the father of more sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.
When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.
15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.
When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.
17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.
When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.
19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.
When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.
21 After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.
When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.
23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.
When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.
25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.
And after he had become the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 When Terah was 70 years old, his son Abram was born. Later, two other sons, Nahor and Haran were born.
When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
27 (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.
This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
28 Haran died before his father died. He died in Ur [city] in Chaldea land, where he was born.
During his father Terah’s lifetime, Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
29 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.
And 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.
30 Sarai was unable to bear any children.
But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31 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.
And 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.
32 When Terah was 205 years old, he died there in Haran.
Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
