Genesis 10; Genesis 11; Genesis 12; Matthew 4

Genesis 10

1 This is the account of Noah's sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their descendants. Shem, Ham and Japheth had children after the flood.

2 Japheth's descendants were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

3 Gomer's descendants were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 Javan's descendants were the people from Elishah, Tarshish, Cyprus, and Rhodes.

5 From these descendants the people of the coastlands spread into their own countries. Each nation had its own language and families.

6 Ham's descendants were Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

7 Cush's descendants were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah's descendants were Sheba and Dedan.

8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, the first mighty warrior on the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed. That's why people used to say, "[He's] like Nimrod, a mighty hunter whom the LORD blessed."

10 The first [cities] in his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in Shinar [Babylonia].

11 He went from that land to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,

12 and Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah.

13 Egypt was the ancestor of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites,

14 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

15 Canaan was the father of Sidon his firstborn, then Heth,

16 also the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites,

17 the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,

18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite families scattered.

19 The border of the Canaanites extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.

20 These were Ham's descendants by families and languages within their countries and nations.

21 Shem, Japheth's older brother, also had children. [Shem was] the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

22 Shem's descendants were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

23 Aram's descendants were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

24 Arpachshad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah was the father of Eber.

25 Two sons were born to Eber. The name of the one was Peleg [Division], because in his day the earth was divided. His brother's name was Joktan.

26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. These were Joktan's sons.

30 The region where they lived extended from Mesha toward Sephar in the eastern mountains.

31 These were Shem's descendants by families and languages within their countries according to their nations.

32 These were the families of Noah's sons listed by their genealogies, nation by nation. From these [descendants] the nations spread over the earth after the flood.

Genesis 11

1 The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary.

2 As people moved toward the east, they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.

3 They said to one another, "Let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used bricks as stones and tar as mortar.

4 Then they said, "Let's build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let's make a name for ourselves so that we won't become scattered all over the face of the earth."

5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building.

6 The LORD said, "They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them.

7 Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won't understand each other."

8 So the LORD scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city.

9 This is why it was named Babel, because there the LORD turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the LORD scattered them all over the face of the earth.

10 This is the account of Shem and his descendants. Two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad.

11 After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah.

13 After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber.

15 After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg.

17 After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu.

19 After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug.

21 After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor.

23 After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah.

25 After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.

28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land.

29 Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.)

30 Sarai was not able to have children.

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there.

32 Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

Genesis 12

1 The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your land, your relatives, and your father's home. Go to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make you a great nation, I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse. Through you every family on earth will be blessed."

4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran.

5 Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

6 They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "I'm going to give this land to your descendants." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.

8 He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent--with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to the LORD there and worshiped the LORD.

9 Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe.

11 When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, "I know that you're a beautiful woman.

12 When the Egyptians see you, they'll say, 'This is his wife!' Then they'll kill me but let you live.

13 Please say that you're my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live."

14 When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful his wife was.

15 When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they raved about her to Pharaoh, so Sarai was taken to Pharaoh's palace.

16 Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

17 However, the LORD struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.

18 Then Pharaoh called for Abram. "What have you done to me?" he asked. "Why didn't you tell me that she's your wife?

19 Why did you say, 'She's my sister' and allow me to take her for my wife? Here's your wife! Take her and go!"

20 Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had.

Matthew 4

1 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil.

2 Jesus did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of that time, he was hungry.

3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread."

4 Jesus answered, "Scripture says, 'A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks.'"

5 Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple.

6 He said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, jump! Scripture says, 'He will put his angels in charge of you. They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.'"

7 Jesus said to him, "Again, Scripture says, 'Never tempt the Lord your God.'"

8 Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms in the world and their glory.

9 The devil said to him, "I will give you all this if you will bow down and worship me."

10 Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan! Scripture says, 'Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came to take care of him.

12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went back to Galilee.

13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This was in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 So what the prophet Isaiah had said came true:

15 "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, on the way to the sea, across the Jordan River, Galilee, where foreigners live!

16 The people who lived in darkness have seen a bright light. A light has risen for those who live in a land overshadowed by death."

17 From then on, Jesus began to tell people, "Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near!"

18 As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (called Peter) and Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen.

19 Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me! I will teach you how to catch people instead of fish."

20 They immediately left their nets and followed him.

21 As Jesus went on, he saw two other brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee preparing their nets to go fishing. He called them,

22 and they immediately left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

23 Jesus went all over Galilee. He taught in the synagogues and spread the Good News of the kingdom. He also cured every disease and sickness among the people.

24 The news about Jesus spread throughout Syria. People brought him everyone who was sick, those who suffered from any kind of disease or pain. They also brought epileptics, those who were paralyzed, and people possessed by demons, and he cured them all.

25 Large crowds followed him. They came from Galilee, the Ten Cities, Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan River.