Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 11 - New International Version (2024)

The Tower of Babel

11Now the whole world had one language^(A) and a common speech. ²As people moved eastward,^[a] they found a plain in Shinar^[b](B) and settled there.

³They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks^(C) and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone,^(D) and tar^(E) for mortar. ⁴Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens,^(F) so that we may make a name^(G) for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered^(H) over the face of the whole earth.”^(I)

⁵But the Lord came down^(J) to see the city and the tower the people were building. ⁶The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language^(K) they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us^(L) go down^(M) and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”^(N)

⁸So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth,^(O) and they stopped building the city. ⁹That is why it was called Babel^[c](P)—because there the Lord confused the language^(Q) of the whole world.^(R) From there the Lord scattered^(S) them over the face of the whole earth.

From Shem to Abram^(T)

¹⁰This is the account^(U) of Shem’s family line.

Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father^[d] of Arphaxad.^{(V) 11}And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹²When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.^{(W) 13}And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.^[e]

¹⁴When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.^{(X) 15}And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg.^{(Y) 17}And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu.^{(Z) 19}And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug.^{(AA) 21}And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²²When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor.^{(AB) 23}And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁴When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah.^{(AC) 25}And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁶After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram,^(AD) Nahor^(AE) and Haran.^(AF)

Abram’s Family

²⁷This is the account^(AG) of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor^(AH) and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot.^{(AI) 28}While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans,^(AJ) in the land of his birth. ²⁹Abram and Nahor^(AK) both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai,^(AL) and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah;^(AM) she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. ³⁰Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.^(AN)

³¹Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot^(AO) son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law^(AP) Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans^(AQ) to go to Canaan.^(AR) But when they came to Harran,^(AS) they settled there.

³²Terah^(AT) lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

Footnotes

1. Genesis 11:2 Or from the east; or in the east
2. Genesis 11:2 That is, Babylonia
3. Genesis 11:9 That is, Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused.
4. Genesis 11:10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25.
5. Genesis 11:13 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35, 36 and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. ¹³And after he became the father of Cainan, Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years, he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons and daughters

Cross references

1. Genesis 11:1 : ver 6
2. Genesis 11:2 : S Ge 10:10
3. Genesis 11:3 : Ex 1:14; 5:7; Jer 43:9
4. Genesis 11:3 : Isa 9:10; Am 5:11
5. Genesis 11:3 : Ge 14:10
6. Genesis 11:4 : Dt 1:28; 6:10; 9:1; Job 20:6; Jer 51:53
7. Genesis 11:4 : Ge 6:4
8. Genesis 11:4 : Dt 30:3; 1Ki 22:17; Est 3:8; Ps 44:11; Jer 31:10; 40:15; Eze 6:8; Joel 3:2
9. Genesis 11:4 : S Ge 9:19; Dt 4:27
10. Genesis 11:5 : ver 7; Ge 18:21; Ex 3:8; 19:11, 18, 20; Ps 18:9; 144:5
11. Genesis 11:6 : S ver 1
12. Genesis 11:7 : S Ge 1:26
13. Genesis 11:7 : S ver 5
14. Genesis 11:7 : Ge 42:23; Dt 28:49; Isa 28:11; 33:19; Jer 5:15; 1Co 14:2, 11
15. Genesis 11:8 : S Ge 9:19; Dt 32:8; S Lk 1:51
16. Genesis 11:9 : S Ge 10:10
17. Genesis 11:9 : Ps 55:9
18. Genesis 11:9 : Ac 2:5-11
19. Genesis 11:9 : Isa 2:10, 21; 13:14; 24:1
20. Genesis 11:10 : 11:10-27pp — Ge 10:21-31; 1Ch 1:17-27
21. Genesis 11:10 : S Ge 2:4
22. Genesis 11:10 : Lk 3:36
23. Genesis 11:12 : Lk 3:35
24. Genesis 11:14 : Lk 3:35
25. Genesis 11:16 : Lk 3:35
26. Genesis 11:18 : Lk 3:35
27. Genesis 11:20 : Lk 3:35
28. Genesis 11:22 : Lk 3:34
29. Genesis 11:24 : Lk 3:34
30. Genesis 11:26 : Lk 3:34
31. Genesis 11:26 : Jos 24:2
32. Genesis 11:26 : 2Ki 19:12; Isa 37:12; Eze 27:23
33. Genesis 11:27 : S Ge 2:4
34. Genesis 11:27 : ver 29; Ge 31:53
35. Genesis 11:27 : ver 31; Ge 12:4; 13:1, 5, 8, 12; 14:12; 19:1; Lk 17:28; 2Pe 2:7
36. Genesis 11:28 : ver 31; Ge 15:7; Ne 9:7; Job 1:17; 16:11; Eze 23:23; Ac 7:4
37. Genesis 11:29 : S ver 27, 31; Ge 22:20, 23; 24:10, 15, 24; 29:5
38. Genesis 11:29 : Ge 12:5, 11; 16:1; 17:15
39. Genesis 11:29 : Ge 22:20
40. Genesis 11:30 : Ge 16:1; 18:11; 25:21; 29:31; 30:1, 22; Jdg 13:2; 1Sa 1:5; Ps 113:9; Lk 1:7, 36
41. Genesis 11:31 : S ver 27
42. Genesis 11:31 : Ge 38:11; Lev 18:15; 20:12; Ru 1:6, 22; 2:20; 4:15; 1Sa 4:19; 1Ch 2:4; Eze 22:11; Mic 7:6
43. Genesis 11:31 : S ver 28
44. Genesis 11:31 : S Ge 10:19
45. Genesis 11:31 : S ver 29; Ge 12:4; 27:43; 28:5, 10; 29:4; 2Ki 19:12; Eze 27:23
46. Genesis 11:32 : Jos 24:2