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¹ Now the whole earth had one language and few words.² And as men migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.³ And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.⁴ Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."

⁵ And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.⁶ And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.⁷ Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."⁸ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.⁹ Therefore its name was called Ba'bel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

¹⁰ These are the descendants of Shem. When Shem was a hundred years old, he became the father of Arpach'shad two years after the flood;¹¹ and Shem lived after the birth of Arpach'shad five hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.¹² When Arpach'shad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah;¹³ and Arpach'shad lived after the birth of Shelah four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.¹⁴ When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber;¹⁵ and Shelah lived after the birth of Eber four hundred and three years, and had other sons and daughters.¹⁶ When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg;¹⁷ and Eber lived after the birth of Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and had other sons and daughters.¹⁸ When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Re'u;¹⁹ and Peleg lived after the birth of Re'u two hundred and nine years, and had other sons and daughters.²⁰ When Re'u had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug;²¹ and Re'u lived after the birth of Serug two hundred and seven years, and had other sons and daughters.²² When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor;²³ and Serug lived after the birth of Nahor two hundred years, and had other sons and daughters.²⁴ When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah;²⁵ and Nahor lived after the birth of Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and had other sons and daughters.²⁶ When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷ Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.²⁸ Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chalde'ans.²⁹ And Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram's wife was Sar'ai, and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah.³⁰ Now Sar'ai was barren; she had no child.³¹ Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sar'ai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chalde'ans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there.³² The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.