Genesis 11:1–32

¹Now all the earth continued to be of one language and of one set of words.²And it came about that in their journeying eastward they eventually discovered a valley plain in the land of Shi′nar, and they took up dwelling there.³And they began to say, each one to the other: “Come on! Let us make bricks and bake them with a burning process.” So brick served as stone for them, but bitumen served as mortar for them.⁴They now said: “Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered over all the surface of the earth.”

⁵And Jehovah proceeded to go down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built.⁶After that Jehovah said: “Look! They are one people and there is one language for them all, and this is what they start to do. Why, now there is nothing that they may have in mind to do that will be unattainable for them.⁷Come now! Let us go down and there confuse their language that they may not listen to one another’s language.”⁸Accordingly Jehovah scattered them from there over all the surface of the earth, and they gradually left off building the city.⁹That is why its name was called Ba′bel, because there Jehovah had confused the language of all the earth, and Jehovah had scattered them from there over all the surface of the earth.

¹⁰This is the history of Shem.

Shem was a hundred years old when he became father to Ar‧pach′shad two years after the deluge.¹¹And after his fathering Ar‧pach′shad Shem continued to live five hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

¹²And Ar‧pach′shad lived thirty‐five years. Then he became father to She′lah.¹³And after his fathering She′lah Ar‧pach′shad continued to live four hundred and three years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

¹⁴And She′lah lived thirty years. Then he became father to E′ber.¹⁵And after his fathering E′ber She′lah continued to live four hundred and three years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

¹⁶And E′ber lived on for thirty‐four years. Then he became father to Pe′leg.¹⁷And after his fathering Pe′leg E′ber continued to live four hundred and thirty years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

¹⁸And Pe′leg lived on for thirty years. Then he became father to Re′u.¹⁹And after his fathering Re′u Pe′leg continued to live two hundred and nine years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

²⁰And Re′u lived on for thirty‐two years. Then he became father to Se′rug.²¹And after his fathering Se′rug Re′u continued to live two hundred and seven years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

²²And Se′rug lived on for thirty years. Then he became father to Na′hor.²³And after his fathering Na′hor Se′rug continued to live two hundred years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

²⁴And Na′hor lived on for twenty‐nine years. Then he became father to Te′rah.²⁵And after his fathering Te′rah Na′hor continued to live a hundred and nineteen years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters.

²⁶And Te′rah lived on for seventy years, after which he became father to A′bram, Na′hor and Ha′ran.

²⁷And this is the history of Te′rah.

Te′rah became father to A′bram, Na′hor and Ha′ran; and Ha′ran became father to Lot.²⁸Later Ha′ran died while in company with Te′rah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chal‧de′ans.²⁹And A′bram and Na′hor proceeded to take wives for themselves. The name of A′bram’s wife was Sar′ai, while the name of Na′hor’s wife was Mil′cah, the daughter of Ha′ran, the father of Mil′cah and father of Is′cah.³⁰But Sar′ai continued to be barren; she had no child.

³¹After that Te′rah took A′bram his son and Lot, the son of Ha′ran, his grandson, and Sar′ai his daughter‐in‐law, the wife of A′bram his son, and they went with him out of Ur of the Chal‧de′ans to go to the land of Ca′naan. In time they came to Ha′ran and took up dwelling there.³²And the days of Te′rah came to be two hundred and five years. Then Te′rah died in Ha′ran.