Genesis 10; Genesis 11; Genesis 12; Matthew 4

1 Here is the story of Shem, Ham and Japheth. They were Noah's sons. After the flood, they too had sons.

2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.

3 The sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.

4 The sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanites.

5 The people who lived by the sea came from all of them. Their tribes and nations spread out into their own territories. Each tribe and nation had its own language.

6 The sons of Ham were Cush, Egypt, Put and Canaan.

7 The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

8 Cush was the father of Nimrod. Nimrod grew up to be a mighty hero on the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter in the LORD's eyes. That's why people sometimes compare others with Nimrod. They say, "They are like Nimrod, who is a mighty hunter in the LORD's eyes."

10 At first Nimrod's kingdom was made up of Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh. Those cities were in the land of Babylonia.

11 From that land he went to Assyria. There he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir and Calah.

12 He also built Resen. It is between Nineveh and Calah. Nineveh is the great city.

13 Egypt was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites and Naphtuhites.

14 He was also the father of the Pathrusites, Casluhites and Caphtorites. The Philistines came from the Casluhites.

15 Canaan was the father of Sidon. Sidon was his oldest son. Canaan was also the father of the Hittites,

16 Jebusites, Amorites and Girgashites.

17 And he was the father of the Hivites, Arkites, Sinites,

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

19 The borders of Canaan went from Sidon toward Gerar all the way to Gaza. Then they went toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim all the way to Lasha.

20 Those are the sons of Ham. They are listed by their tribes and languages in their territories and nations.

21 Sons were also born to Shem. Shem was Japheth's younger brother. All of the sons of Eber came from Shem.

22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram.

23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech.

24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah. Shelah was the father of Eber.

25 Eber was the father of two sons. One was named Peleg. That's because the earth was divided up in his time. His brother was named Joktan.

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

27 He was also the father of Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

29 Ophir, Havilah and Jobab. All of them were sons of Joktan.

30 The area where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar. It was in the eastern hill country.

31 Those are the sons of Shem. They are listed by their tribes and languages in their territories and nations.

32 Those are the tribes of Noah's sons. They are listed by their family lines within their nations. From them the nations spread out over the earth after the flood.

1 The whole world had only one language. All people spoke it.

2 They moved to the east and found a broad valley in Babylonia. There they settled down.

3 They said to each other, "Come. Let's make bricks and bake them well." They used bricks instead of stones. They used tar to hold the bricks together.

4 Then they said, "Come. Let's build a city for ourselves. Let's build a tower that reaches to the sky. We'll make a name for ourselves. Then we won't be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.

6 The LORD said, "They are one people. And all of them speak the same language. That is why they can do this. Now they will be able to do anything they plan to.

7 Come. Let us go down and mix up their language. Then they will not understand each other."

8 So the LORD scattered them from there over the whole earth. And they stopped building the city.

9 The LORD mixed up the language of the whole world there. That's why the city was named Babel. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

10 Here is the story of Shem. It was two years after the flood. When Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

11 After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.

13 After Shelah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.

15 After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.

17 After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.

19 After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.

21 After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.

23 After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.

25 After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 years. And he had other sons and daughters.

26 Terah lived for 70 years. Then he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran.

27 Here is the story of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.

28 Haran died in Ur in Babylonia. That was the land where he had been born. Haran died while his father Terah was still alive.

29 Abram and Nahor both got married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai. The name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran. Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.

30 But Sarai wasn't able to have children.

31 Terah started out from Ur in Babylonia. He took his son Abram with him. He also took his grandson Lot. Lot was the son of Haran. And Terah took his daughter-in-law Sarai. She was the wife of his son Abram. All of them left together to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled down.

32 Terah lived for 205 years. He died in Haran.

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country and your people. Leave your father's family. Go to the land I will show you.

2 "I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others.

3 I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who calls down a curse on you. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you."

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

5 He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all of the things they had gotten in Haran. They also took the workers they had gotten there. They set out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land. He went as far as the large tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the people of Canaan were living in the land.

7 The LORD appeared to Abram at Shechem. He said, "I will give this land to your children after you." So Abram built an altar there to honor the Lord, who had appeared to him.

8 From there, Abram went on toward the hills east of Bethel. He set up his tent there. Bethel was to the west, and Ai was to the east. Abram built an altar there and worshiped the Lord.

9 Then Abram left and continued toward the Negev Desert.

10 At that time there wasn't enough food in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while.

11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he spoke to his wife Sarai. He said, "I know what a beautiful woman you are.

12 The people of Egypt will see you. They will say, 'This is his wife.' And they will kill me. But they will let you live.

13 Say you are my sister. Then I'll be treated well because of you. My life will be spared because of you."

14 Abram arrived in Egypt. The people of Egypt saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman.

15 When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they bragged to Pharaoh about her. Sarai was taken into his palace.

16 Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her. So Abram gained more sheep and cattle. He also got more male and female donkeys. And he gained more male and female servants and some camels.

17 But the LORD sent terrible sicknesses on Pharaoh and everyone in his palace. He did it because of Abram's wife Sarai.

18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife?

19 Why did you say, 'She's my sister'? That's why I took her to be my wife. Now then, here's your wife. Take her and go!"

20 Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men. They sent him on his way. He left with his wife and everything he had.

1 The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert. There the devil tempted him.

2 After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry.

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

4 Jesus answered, "It is written, 'Man doesn't live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' "(Deuteronomy 8:3)

5 Then the devil took Jesus to the holy city. He had him stand on the highest point of the temple.

6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. It is written, " 'The Lord will command his angels to take good care of you. They will lift you up in their hands. Then you won't trip over a stone.' " (Psalm 91:11,12)

7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "(Deuteronomy 6:16)

8 Finally, the devil took Jesus to a very high mountain. He showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

9 "If you bow down and worship me," he said, "I will give you all of this."

10 Jesus said to him, "Get away from me, Satan! It is written, 'Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve.' "(Deuteronomy 6:13)

11 Then the devil left Jesus. Angels came and took care of him.

12 John had been put in prison. When Jesus heard about this, he returned to Galilee.

13 Jesus left Nazareth. He went to live in the city of Capernaum. It was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali.

14 In that way, what the prophet Isaiah had said came true. He had said,

15 "Land of Zebulun! Land of Naphtali! Galilee, where non-Jewish people live! Land along the Mediterranean Sea! Territory east of the Jordan River!

16 The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them." (Isaiah 9:1,2)

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach. "Turn away from your sins!" he said. "The kingdom of heaven is near."

18 One day Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee. There he saw two brothers. They were Simon Peter and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the lake. They were fishermen.

19 "Come. Follow me," Jesus said. "I will make you fishers of people."

20 At once they left their nets and followed him.

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers. They were James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee. As they were preparing their nets, Jesus called out to them.

22 Right away they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus.

23 Jesus went all over Galilee. There he taught in the synagogues. He preached the good news of God's kingdom. He healed every illness and sickness the people had.

24 News about him spread all over Syria. People brought to him all who were ill with different kinds of sicknesses. Some were suffering great pain. Others were controlled by demons. Some were shaking wildly. Others couldn't move at all. And Jesus healed all of them.

25 Large crowds followed him. Some people came from Galilee, from the area known as the Ten Cities, and from Jerusalem and Judea. Others came from the area across the Jordan River.