¹ The whole world spoke the same language, with the same vocabulary.

² Now, as people moved eastwards they found a valley in the land of Shinar where they settled.

³ They said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks and bake them in the fire.' For stone they used bricks, and for mortar they used bitumen.

⁴ 'Come,' they said, 'let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top reaching heaven. Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we do not get scattered all over the world.'

⁵ Now Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built.

⁶ 'So they are all a single people with a single language!' said Yahweh. 'This is only the start of their undertakings! Now nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.

⁷ Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they cannot understand one another.'

⁸ Yahweh scattered them thence all over the world, and they stopped building the city.

⁹ That is why it was called Babel, since there Yahweh confused the language of the whole world, and from there Yahweh scattered them all over the world.

¹⁰ These are Shem's descendants: When Shem was a hundred years old he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood.

¹¹ After the birth of Arpachshad, Shem lived five hundred years and fathered sons and daughters.

¹² When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old he fathered Shelah.

¹³ After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years and fathered sons and daughters.

¹⁴ When Shelah was thirty years old he fathered Eber.

¹⁵ After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived four hundred and three years and fathered sons and daughters.

¹⁶ When Eber was thirty-four years old he fathered Peleg.

¹⁷ After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years and fathered sons and daughters.

¹⁸ When Peleg was thirty years old he fathered Reu.

¹⁹ After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years and fathered sons and daughters.

²⁰ When Reu was thirty-two years old he fathered Serug.

²¹ After the birth of Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years and fathered sons and daughters.

²² When Serug was thirty years old he fathered Nahor.

²³ After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years and fathered sons and daughters.

²⁴ When Nahor was twenty-nine years old he fathered Terah.

²⁵ After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived a hundred and nineteen years and fathered sons and daughters.

²⁶ When Terah was seventy years old he fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran.

²⁷ These are Terah's descendants: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran fathered Lot.

²⁸ Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in his native land, Ur of the Chaldaeans.

²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married: Abram's wife was called Sarai, Nahor's wife was called Milcah daughter of Haran, father of Milcah and Iscah.

³⁰ Sarai was barren, having no child.

³¹ Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law the wife of Abram, and made them leave Ur of the Chaldaeans to go to the land of Canaan. But on arrival in Haran they settled there.

³² Terah's life lasted two hundred and five years; then he died at Haran.