Yahweh caused people to speak many different languages after they started to build a tower at Babel

1At first, all the people in [MTY] the world spoke the same language [DOU].

2As people moved further east, they arrived at a plain in Babylonia region and began to live there.

3Then they said to each other, “◄Hey/Come on►, let’s form bricks and bake them to make them hard, for building!” So they used bricks instead of stones, and used tar instead of ◄mortar/a mixture of cement, sand and lime► to hold them together.

4They said, “Hey, let’s build a city for ourselves! We also ought to build a very high tower that reaches up to the sky! In that way we will become famous! If we do not do this, we will be scattered all over the earth!”

5So they began to build the city and the tower. Then Yahweh looked down and saw the city and the tower that those puny men were building.

6Yahweh said, “These people are one group that all speak the same language. If they have begun to do this now, then ◄there is nothing that they will decide to do that will be impossible for them/they will be able to do whatever they decide to do► [LIT]!

7So, okay/now, we will go down there and cause there to be many different languages, so that they will not be able to understand each other.”

8So Yahweh did that. As a result, the people stopped building the city, and Yahweh caused them to disperse all over the earth.

9The city was called Babel which means ‘confusion’, because there Yahweh caused the people to become confused because the people [MTY] spoke different languages that the others could not understand, not just one language. From there Yahweh caused them to disperse all over the earth.

Shem’s descendants

10◄This is a bigger list/I will now tell you more► of the descendants of Shem: Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad.

11After Arpachshad was born, Shem lived 500 more years and had more sons and daughters.

12When Arphachshad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.

13After Shelah was born, Arpachshad lived 403 more years and became the father of more sons and daughters.

14When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.

15After Eber was born, Shelah lived 403 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.

16When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.

17After Peleg was born, Eber lived 430 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.

18When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.

19After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.

20When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.

21After Serug was born, Reu lived 207 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.

22When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.

23After Nahor was born, Serug lived 200 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.

24When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.

25After Terah was born, Nahor lived 119 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.

26When Terah was 70 years old, his son Abram was born. Later, two other sons, Nahor and Haran were born.

Terah’s descendants

27◄This is/I will now give► a list of the descendants of Terah: Terah’s sons were Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran’s son was named Lot.

28Haran died before his father died. He died in Ur city in Chaldea land, where he was born.

29Abram and Nahor both married. Abram’s wife was named Sarai, and Nahor’s wife was named Milcah. Milcah and her younger sister Iscah were the daughters of Haran.

30Sarai was unable to bear any children.

31Terah decided to leave Ur and go to live in Canaan land. So he took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and Abram’s wife Sarai with him. But instead of going to Canaan, they stopped at Haran town and lived there.

32When Terah was 205 years old, he died there in Haran.