Genesis 11 - Amplified Bible (AMP)

Universal Language, Babel, Confusion

11 Now the whole earth [a]spoke one language and used the same words (vocabulary). 2 And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there.(A) 3 They said one to another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly [in a kiln, to harden and strengthen them].” So they used brick for stone [as building material], and they used tar (bitumen, asphalt) for mortar. 4 They said, “Come, let us build a city for ourselves, and a tower whose top will reach into the heavens, and let us make a [famous] name for ourselves, so that we will not be scattered [into separate groups] and be dispersed over the surface of the entire earth [as the Lord instructed].”(B) 5 Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one [unified] people, and they all have the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do [in rebellion against Me], and now no evil thing they imagine they can do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) go down and there confuse and mix up their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the surface of the entire earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore the name of the city was [b]Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the entire earth; and from that place the Lord scattered and dispersed them over the surface of all the earth.

Descendants of Shem

10 These are the records of the generations of Shem [from whom Abraham descended]. Shem was a hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad, two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived five hundred years after Arpachshad was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah. 13 Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after Shelah was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber. 15 Shelah lived four hundred and three years after Eber was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg. 17 And Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after Peleg was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu. 19 And Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after Reu was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug. 21 And Reu lived two hundred and seven years after Serug was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor. 23 And Serug lived two hundred years after Nahor was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah. 25 And Nahor lived a hundred and nineteen years after Terah was born, and he had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of [c]Abram and Nahor and Haran [his firstborn].

27 Now these are the records of the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram (Abraham), Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in [d]Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai (later called Sarah), and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she did not have a child.

31 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 together to go from Ur of the Chaldeans into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran [about five hundred and fifty miles northwest of Ur], they settled there. 32 Terah lived two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 11:1 Lit was one lip.
  2. Genesis 11:9 The word “Babel” is similar to the word “confuse” (Heb balal), but not identical.
  3. Genesis 11:26 Abram (Abraham) is mentioned first because of his importance, not his birth order.
  4. Genesis 11:28 Abram’s home town was Ur of the Chaldeans. As the result of extensive archeological excavations there in 1922-34, a great deal is known about Abram’s background. The house of the average middle-class person had from ten to twenty rooms and measured forty to fifty-two feet; the lower floor was for servants, the upper floor for the family, with five rooms for their use; additionally, there was a guest chamber and a lavatory reserved for visitors, and a private chapel. A school was found and what the students studied was shown by the clay tablets discovered there. In the days of Abram the pupils had reading, writing, and arithmetic as today. They learned the multiplication and division tables and even worked at square and cube roots. A bill of lading of about 2040 b.c. (about the era in which Abram is believed to have lived) showed that the commerce of that time was far-reaching. Even the name “Abraham” has been found on the excavated clay tablets.

Cross references

  1. Genesis 11:2 : Gen 10:10
  2. Genesis 11:4 : Gen 9:1

You Might Also Like:

Genesis 11 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

11 And the whole earth is of one pronunciation, and of the same words, 2 and it cometh to pass, in their journeying from the east, that they find a valley in the land of Shinar, and dwell there; 3 and they say each one to his neighbour, `Give help, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly:' an...
Read More

Genesis 11 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

11 Forsooth (all) the land was of one language, and of the same speech. [Forsooth the (whole) earth was of one lip, and of the same words.] 2 And when they went forth from the east, they found a field in the land of Shinar, and they dwelled therein. 3 And one said to his neighbour (And they said to ...
Read More

Genesis 11 - World English Bible (WEB)

11 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2 As they traveled east,[a] they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 They sai...
Read More

Genesis 11 - The Voice (VOICE)

According to Genesis, the sons and daughters of Noah established the first known cultures of the world.11 There was a time when everyone on the earth spoke the very same language. 2 As many of these people began moving from the eastern regions into the western part of Mesopotamia, they settled down...
Read More

Genesis 11 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Tower of Babel11 Now the entire earth had the same language with the same vocabulary. 2 When they traveled eastward, they found a valley-plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, “Come! Let’s make bricks and bake them until they’re hard.” So they used bricks for st...
Read More

Genesis 11 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

The Tower of Babel11 [a]Now the whole earth had one language and few words. 2 And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitum...
Read More

Genesis 11 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

The Tower of Babel11 Now the whole earth had one language and few words. 2 And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen ...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

The Tower of Babel11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east,[a] they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone,...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Tower of Babel11 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east,[a] they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.(A)3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone a...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Tower of Babel11 At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia[a] and settled there. 3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In ...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New Life Version (NLV)

The Tower at Babylon11 Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. 2 And as men traveled in the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and made their home there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make blocks and burn them until they are hard.” They used blocks f...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Tower of Babel11 Now the whole earth had one language and one [a]speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land (A)of Shinar, and they dwelt there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and [b]bake them thoroughly.” They...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The tower of Babel11 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b] and settled there. 3 They said to each other, ‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and bitumen for mortar. ...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New International Version (NIV)

The Tower of Babel11 Now the whole world had one language(A) and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward,[a] they found a plain in Shinar[b](B) and settled there. 3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks(C) and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone,(D) and tar(E) for...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The Tower of Babel11 The whole world had only one language, and everyone spoke it. 2 They moved to the east and found a broad valley in Babylon. There they made their home. 3 They said to one another, “Come on! Let’s make bricks and bake them well.” They used bricks instead of stones. They used tar...
Read More

Genesis 11 - New English Translation (NET)

The Dispersion of the Nations at Babel11 The whole earth[a] had a common language and a common vocabulary.[b] 2 When the people[c] moved eastward,[d] they found a plain in Shinar[e] and settled there. 3 Then they said to one another,[f] “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”[g] (They ...
Read More