Genesis 11

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

1Long ago, everyone on earth spoke the same language. They all used the same words.

2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

2People moved toward the east. They found a wide, flat land called Shinar. They stayed and lived there.

3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.

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

NoteThe KJV word "slime" here means tar, a thick black goo that dries hard and glues bricks together.

4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

4They said, "Come on. Let's build a city. Let's build a tower that reaches the sky. Then we will be famous. We will not be spread out all over the earth."

Note"Let us make us a name" means "let us make ourselves famous," so people will remember us.

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

5The LORD came down to look at the city and the tower that the people were building.

6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

6The LORD said, "Look. They are one people, and they all speak one language. This is only the start of what they will do. Now nothing they plan will be too hard for them."

7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

7"Come, let Us go down. Let Us mix up their language. Then they will not understand each other."

8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

8So the LORD spread them out from there over all the earth. They stopped building the city.

9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

9That is why the place is called Babel. There the LORD mixed up the language of the whole world. From there the LORD spread the people over all the earth.

Note"Confound" is an old word for mix up or confuse. The name Babel sounds like the Hebrew word for "mixed up."

10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

10Here is the family list of Shem. Shem was 100 years old when his son Arphaxad was born. That was two years after the flood.

11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

11After Arphaxad was born, Shem lived 500 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

12Arphaxad was 35 years old when his son Salah was born.

13And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

13After Salah was born, Arphaxad lived 403 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

14And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

14Salah was 30 years old when his son Eber was born.

15And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

15After Eber was born, Salah lived 403 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

16Eber was 34 years old when his son Peleg was born.

17And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

17After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

18Peleg was 30 years old when his son Reu was born.

19And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

19After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

20Reu was 32 years old when his son Serug was born.

21And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

21After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

22Serug was 30 years old when his son Nahor was born.

23And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

23After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

24Nahor was 29 years old when his son Terah was born.

25And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

25After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 more years. He had more sons and daughters.

26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

26Terah was 70 years old when his sons were born. Their names were Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

27Here is the family list of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot.

28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

28Haran died while his father Terah was still alive. He died in the land where he was born, in Ur, a city of the Chaldeans.

29And Abram and Nahor took them 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 the father of Iscah.

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

30But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

30But Sarai could not have babies. She had no children.

31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

31Terah took his son Abram with him. He also took his grandson Lot, the son of Haran. He took Sarai too, who was Abram's wife. They left Ur to go to the land of Canaan. But they came to a place called Haran and stayed there.

NoteHaran is both a person's name and, spelled the same way in English, the name of a town. The brother died in Ur; the family later settled in the town.

32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

32Terah lived 205 years. Then he died in Haran.