English Standard Version ESV
New International Version NIV
1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.
1
Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
2
As people moved eastward, they found a plain in 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 for mortar.
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They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth."
4
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
5
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
6 And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
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The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech."
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Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
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So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
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That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
10 These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood.
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This is the account of Shem’s family line. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
11 And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12 When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah.
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When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.
13 And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber.
14
When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.
15 And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg.
16
When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.
17 And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.
18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu.
18
When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.
19 And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.
20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug.
20
When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.
21 And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.
22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor.
22
When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.
23 And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.
24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah.
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When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.
25 And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
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And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.
26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
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After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.
27 Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.
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This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.
28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans.
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While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth.
29 And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.
29
Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah.
30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.
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Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.
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 forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
31
Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.
32 The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.
32
Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.