¹The whole earth was of one language and of one speech .

²As they travelled east , they found a plain in the land of Shinar , and they lived there .[#11:2 LXX reads “from the east”.]

³They said to one another , “Come , let ’s make bricks , and burn them thoroughly .” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar .

⁴They said, “Come , let’s build ourselves a city , and a tower whose top reaches to the sky , and let’s make a name for ourselves , lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth .”

⁵The LORD came down to see the city and the tower , which the children of men built .

⁶The LORD said, “Behold , they are one people , and they all have one language , and this is what they begin to do . Now nothing will be withheld from them , which they intend to do .

⁷Come , let ’s go down , and there confuse their language , that they may not understand one another ’s speech .”

⁸So the LORD scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city .

⁹Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. From there , the LORD scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.

¹⁰This is the history of the generations of Shem : Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood .

¹¹Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and daughters .

¹²Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah .

¹³Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Shelah , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

¹⁴Shelah lived thirty years , and became the father of Eber .

¹⁵Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

¹⁶Eber lived thirty-four years , and became the father of Peleg .

¹⁷Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he became the father of Peleg , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

¹⁸Peleg lived thirty years , and became the father of Reu .

¹⁹Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he became the father of Reu , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

²⁰Reu lived thirty-two years , and became the father of Serug .

²¹Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he became the father of Serug , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

²²Serug lived thirty years , and became the father of Nahor .

²³Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

²⁴Nahor lived twenty-nine years , and became the father of Terah .

²⁵Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he became the father of Terah , and became the father of more sons and daughters .

²⁶Terah lived seventy years , and became the father of Abram, Nahor , and Haran .

²⁷Now this is the history of the generations of Terah . Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor , and Haran . Haran became the father of Lot .

²⁸Haran died in the land of his birth , in Ur of the Chaldees , while his father Terah was still alive.

²⁹Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai , and the name of Nahor ’s wife was Milcah , the daughter of Haran , who was also the father of Iscah .

³⁰Sarai was barren . She had no child .

³¹Terah took Abram his son , Lot the son of Haran , his son ’s son , and Sarai his daughter-in-law , his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees , to go into the land of Canaan . They came to Haran and lived there .

³²The days of Terah were two hundred and five years . Terah died in Haran .