Now all the earth ¹used the same language and ²the same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed ¹east, that they found a plain in the land ^aof Shinar and ²settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and ¹fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used ^atar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top ^awill reach into heaven, and let’s make ^ba name for ourselves; otherwise we ^cwill be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5 Now ^athe LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the ¹men had built. 6 And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have ^1athe same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be ²impossible for them. 7 Come, ^1alet Us go down and there ^bconfuse their ²language, so that they will not understand one another’s ³speech.” 8 So the LORD ^ascattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named ^1aBabel, because there the LORD confused the ²language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

10 ^aThese are the records of the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, and fathered Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and fathered Eber; 15 and Shelah lived 403 years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and fathered Peleg; 17 and Eber lived 430 years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and fathered Reu; 19 and Peleg lived 209 years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and fathered Serug; 21 and Reu lived 207 years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and fathered Nahor; 23 and Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and fathered ^aTerah; 25 and Nahor lived 119 years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and ^afathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the records of the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and ^aHaran fathered ^bLot. 28 Haran died ¹during the lifetime of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in ^aUr of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and ^aNahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was ^bSarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was ^cMilcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah ¹and Iscah. 30 ^aSarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child.

31 Now Terah took his son Abram, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they departed ¹together from ^aUr of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran and ²settled there. 32 The days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

Now the whole earth ¹had the same language and ²the same words. 2 And it happened as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land ^aof Shinar and ¹settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and they had ^atar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top ^awill reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves ^ba name, lest we ^cbe scattered over the face of the whole earth.” 5 ^aThen Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have ^1athe same language. And this is what they have begun to do. So now nothing which they purpose to do will be ²impossible for them. 7 Come, ^alet Us go down and there ^bconfuse their ¹language, so that they will not understand one another’s ²language.” 8 So Yahweh ^ascattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called ^1aBabel, because there Yahweh confused the ²language of the whole earth; and from there Yahweh scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

10 ^aThese are the generations of Shem. Shem was 100 years old and ¹became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood; 11 and Shem lived 500 years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

12 And Arpachshad lived 35 years and became the father of Shelah; 13 and Arpachshad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

14 And Shelah lived 30 years and became the father of Eber; 15 and Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

16 And Eber lived 34 years and became the father of Peleg; 17 and Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

18 And Peleg lived 30 years and became the father of Reu; 19 and Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

20 And Reu lived 32 years and became the father of Serug; 21 and Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

22 And Serug lived 30 years and became the father of Nahor; 23 and Serug lived 200 years after he became the father of Nahor, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived 29 years and became the father of ^aTerah; 25 and Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah, and he became the father of other sons and daughters.

26 And Terah lived 70 years and became ^athe father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and ^aHaran became the father of ^bLot. 28 And Haran died ¹in the presence of Terah his father in the land of his birth, in ^aUr of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and ^aNahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was ^bSarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife was ^cMilcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah. 30 ^aAnd Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out ¹together from ^aUr of the Chaldeans in order to go to the land of Canaan; and they came as far as Haran and ²settled there. 32 And the days of Terah were 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.