1The entire world had one language and common words. 2As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar Babylon and settled there. 3They said to each other: »Let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.« They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4Then they said: »Let us build ourselves a city, with a lofty tower that reaches into space, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.« 5But Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6Jehovah said: »If they become one people speaking the same language, nothing will be impossible for them. They have begun to do this. 7»Let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.« 8Jehovah scattered them from there over all the earth. They stopped building the city. 9That is why it was called Babel confusion because Jehovah confused the language of the whole world. Jehovah scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth. 10This is the genealogy of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was one hundred years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. 11After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived five hundred years and had other sons and daughters. 12When Arpachshad lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah. 13After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years and had other sons and daughters. 14Shelah lived thirty years. He became the father of Eber. 15After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived four hundred and thirty years and had other sons and daughters. 16When Eber lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg. 17After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years and had other sons and daughters. 18When Peleg lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu. 19After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years and had other sons and daughters. 20When Reu lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug. 21After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years and had other sons and daughters. 22When Serug lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor. 23After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years and had other sons and daughters. 24Nahor lived twenty-nine years; he became the father of Terah. 25After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years and had other sons and daughters. 26Terah lived seventy years. He became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27This is the genealogy of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 29Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30Now Sarai was barren. She had no children. 31Terah 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 Haran, they settled there. 32Terah lived two hundred and five years. He died in Haran.