GenesisChapter 11

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¹At that time the whole world had one language. Everyone used the same words. ²As people moved toward the east, they found a flat plain in the land of Shinar. They settled there. ³They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them hard." So they used bricks instead of stones. They used tar instead of mortar. ⁴Then they said, "Come, let's build a city for ourselves. Let's build a tower that reaches up to the heavens. Then we will make a name for ourselves. We won't be scattered over the face of the whole earth." ⁵But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶The LORD said, "They are one people, and they all speak the same language. If they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be too hard for them. ⁷Come, let us go down and mix up their language. Then they won't understand each other." ⁸So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth. And they stopped building the city. ⁹That is why the city is called Babel. That's where the LORD mixed up the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.a ¹⁰This is the story of Shem's family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he had a son named Arphaxad. ¹¹After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 years. He had other sons and daughters. ¹²When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he had a son named Shelah. ¹³After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years. He had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴When Shelah was 30 years old, he had a son named Eber. ¹⁵After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years. He had other sons and daughters. ¹⁶When Eber was 34 years old, he had a son named Peleg. ¹⁷After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 years. He had other sons and daughters. ¹⁸When Peleg was 30 years old, he had a son named Reu. ¹⁹After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 years. He had other sons and daughters. ²⁰When Reu was 32 years old, he had a son named Serug. ²¹After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 years. He had other sons and daughters. ²²When Serug was 30 years old, he had a son named Nahor. ²³After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 years. He had other sons and daughters. ²⁴When Nahor was 29 years old, he had a son named Terah. ²⁵After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 years. He had other sons and daughters. ²⁶When Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. ²⁷This is the story of Terah's family line. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. ²⁸Haran died while his father Terah was still alive. He died in the land where he was born, in Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹Abram and Nahor both got married. Abram's wife was named Sarai. Nahor's wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰But Sarai was not able to have children. She had no child. ³¹Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. He also took his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram's wife. Together they left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. ³²Terah lived 205 years. Then he died in Haran.