| English Standard Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. | 1The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary. |
| 2And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. | 2When the people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. |
| 3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. | 3Then they said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." (They had brick instead of stone and tar instead of mortar.) |
| 4Then 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 dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” | 4Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth." |
| 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. | 5But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. |
| 6And 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. | 6And the LORD said, "If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. |
| 7Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” | 7Come, let's go down and confuse their language so they won't be able to understand each other." |
| 8So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. | 8So the LORD scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city. |
| 9Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth. | 9That is why its name was called Babel--because there the LORD confused the language of the entire world, and from there the LORD scattered them across the face of the entire earth. |
| 10These are the generations of Shem. When Shem was 100 years old, he fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. | 10This is the account of Shem. Shem was 100 old when he became the father of Arphaxad, two years after the flood. |
| 11And Shem lived after he fathered Arpachshad 500 years and had other sons and daughters. | 11And after becoming the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 12When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he fathered Shelah. | 12When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah. |
| 13And Arpachshad lived after he fathered Shelah 403 years and had other sons and daughters. | 13And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 14When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber. | 14When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber. |
| 15And Shelah lived after he fathered Eber 403 years and had other sons and daughters. | 15And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 16When Eber had lived 34 years, he fathered Peleg. | 16When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg. |
| 17And Eber lived after he fathered Peleg 430 years and had other sons and daughters. | 17And after he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he fathered Reu. | 18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he became the father of Reu. |
| 19And Peleg lived after he fathered Reu 209 years and had other sons and daughters. | 19And after he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 20When Reu had lived 32 years, he fathered Serug. | 20When Reu had lived 32 years, he became the father of Serug. |
| 21And Reu lived after he fathered Serug 207 years and had other sons and daughters. | 21And after he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 22When Serug had lived 30 years, he fathered Nahor. | 22When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. |
| 23And Serug lived after he fathered Nahor 200 years and had other sons and daughters. | 23And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 24When Nahor had lived 29 years, he fathered Terah. | 24When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. |
| 25And Nahor lived after he fathered Terah 119 years and had other sons and daughters. | 25And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters. |
| 26When Terah had lived 70 years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. | 26When Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. |
| 27Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. | 27This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. |
| 28Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. | 28Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans, while his father Terah was still alive. |
| 29And Abram and Nahor took 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 Iscah. | 29And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. 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 child. | 30But Sarai was barren; she had no children. |
| 31Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. | 31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. |
| 32The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran. | 32The lifetime of Terah was 205 years, and he died in Haran. |
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