Genesis 11
1 At first, all the people in [MTY] the world spoke the same language [DOU].
Now the whole earth used one language and had the same words.
2 As people moved further east, they arrived at a plain in Babylonia region and began to live there.
As they journeyed in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they 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.
They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick instead of stone and tar as 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!”
They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach to the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves. If we do not, we will be scattered across the surface of the whole 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.
So Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the descendants of Adam had built.
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]!
Yahweh said, “Look, they are one people with the same language, and they are beginning to do this! Soon nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for 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 there, so that they may not understand each other.”
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 Yahweh scattered them from there across the surface 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.
Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth and from there Yahweh scattered them abroad over the surface 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.
These were the descendants of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and he became the father of Arphaxad two years after the flood.
11 After Arpachshad was born, Shem lived 500 more years and had more sons and daughters.
Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arphaxad. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
12 When Arphachshad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.
When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, 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.
Arphaxad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.
When Shelah had lived thirty years, 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.
Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.
When Eber had lived thirty-four years, 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.
Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.
When Peleg had lived thirty years, 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.
Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.
When Reu had lived thirty-two years, 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.
Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.
When Serug had lived thirty years, 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.
Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.
When Nahor had live twenty-nine years, 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.
Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah. He also became the father of 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.
After Terah had lived seventy years, 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.
Now these were the descendants 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.
Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, 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.
Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah, a daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milkah and Iskah.
30 Sarai was unable to bear any children.
Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
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.
Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of his son Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and together they left Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. But they came to Haran and stayed there.
32 When Terah was 205 years old, he died there in Haran.
Terah lived 205 years and then died in Haran.
