New King James Version (NKJV)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth, andall the host of them, were finished.

2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3 Then Godblessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

4 Thisisthe history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that theLordGod made the earth and the heavens,

5 before anyplant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For theLordGod had notcaused it to rain on the earth, andtherewasno manto till the ground;

6 but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

7 And theLordGod formed manofthedust of the ground, andbreathed into hisnostrils the breath of life; andman became a living being.

Life in God’s Garden

8 TheLordGod planteda gardeneastward inEden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

9 And out of the ground theLordGod madeevery tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.The tree of lifewasalso in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good andevil.

10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.

11 The name of the firstisPishon; itisthe one which skirtsthe whole land of Havilah, wherethereisgold.

12 And the gold of that landisgood.Bdellium and the onyx stonearethere.

13 The name of the second riverisGihon; itisthe one which goes around the whole land of Cush.

14 The name of the third riverisHiddekel; itisthe one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth riveristhe Euphrates.

15 Then theLordGod took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

16 And theLordGod commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evilyou shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of ityou shall surelydie.”

18 And theLordGod said, “Itisnot good that man should be alone;I will make him a helper comparable to him.”

19 Out of the ground theLordGod formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, andbroughtthemto Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, thatwasits name.

20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.

21 And theLordGod caused adeep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

22 Then the rib which theLordGod had taken from man He made into a woman,and Hebrought her to the man.

23 And Adam said:

# “Thisisnowbone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

# Because she wastaken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother andbe joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were notashamed.

The Temptation and Fall of Man

1 Nowthe serpent wasmore cunning than any beast of the field which theLordGod had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat thefruit of the trees of the garden;

3 but of the fruit of the tree whichisin the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall youtouch it, lest you die.’ ”

4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 So when the womansaw that the treewasgood for food, that itwaspleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to makeonewise, she took of its fruitand ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,and they knew that theywerenaked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

8 And they heardthe sound of theLordGod walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wifehid themselves from the presence of theLordGod among the trees of the garden.

9 Then theLordGod called to Adam and said to him, “Whereareyou?”

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden,and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that youwerenaked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12 Then the man said,“The woman whom You gavetobewith me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And theLordGod said to the woman, “Whatisthis you have done?”

# The woman said,“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So theLordGod said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

Youarecursed more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you shall go,

# Andyou shall eat dust

All the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

# And betweenyour seed andher Seed;

# He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

16 To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

# In pain you shall bring forth children;

# Your desireshallbefor your husband,

# And he shallrule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said,“Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the treeof which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

# “Cursedisthe ground for your sake;

# In toil you shall eatofit

All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

# Andyou shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

# For dust youare,

# Andto dust you shall return.”

20 And Adam called his wife’s nameEve, because she was the mother of all living.

21 Also for Adam and his wife theLordGod made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

22 Then theLordGod said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—

23 therefore theLordGod sent him out of the garden of Edento till the ground from which he was taken.

24 SoHe drove out the man; and He placedcherubimat the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree oflife.

Cain Murders Abel

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from theLord.”

2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. NowAbel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruitof the ground to theLord.

4 Abel also brought ofthe firstborn of his flock and oftheir fat. And theLordrespectedAbel and his offering,

5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 So theLordsaid to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desireisfor you, but you should rule over it.”

8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother andkilled him.

9 Then theLordsaid to Cain, “WhereisAbel your brother?”

# He said,“I do not know.AmImy brother’s keeper?”

10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s bloodcries out to Me from the ground.

11 So nowyouarecursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

12 When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

13 And Cain said to theLord, “My punishmentisgreater than I can bear!

14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground;I shall behidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happenthatanyone who finds me will kill me.”

15 And theLordsaid to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on himsevenfold.” And theLordset amark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.

The Family of Cain

16 Then Cainwent out from thepresence of theLordand dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Ē´noch. And he built a city,and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Ē´noch.

18 To Ē´noch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.

19 Then Lamech took for himselftwo wives: the name of onewasAdah, and the name of the secondwasZillah.

20 And Adah bore Jabal. He was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock.

21 His brother’s namewasJubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute.

22 And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-CainwasNaamah.

23 Then Lamech said to his wives:

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!

For I have killed a man for wounding me,

Even a young man for hurting me.

24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,

Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

A New Son

25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son andnamed him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

26 And as for Seth,to him also a son was born; and he named him Ē´nosh. Thenmenbeganto call on the name of theLord.

The Family of Adam

1 This is the book of thegenealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him inthe likeness of God.

2 He created themmale and female, andblessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.

3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begotasonin his own likeness, after his image, and named himSeth.

4 After he begot Seth,the days of Adam were eight hundred years;and he had sons and daughters.

5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years;and he died.

6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.

7 After he begotEnosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters.

8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.

9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan.

10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters.

11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.

12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.

13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters.

14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.

15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared.

16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters.

17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.

18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begotEnoch.

19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.

21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.

22 After he begot Methuselah, Enochwalked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.

23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

24 AndEnoch walked with God; and hewasnot, for Godtook him.

25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech.

26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters.

27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.

28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son.

29 And he called his nameNoah, saying, “Thisonewill comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the groundwhich theLordhas cursed.”

30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters.

31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.

32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begotShem, Ham,and Japheth.

The Wickedness and Judgment of Man

1 Now it came to pass,when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,

2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that theywerebeautiful; and theytook wives for themselves of all whom they chose.

3 And theLordsaid,“My Spirit shall notstrive with man forever,for heisindeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

4 There were giants on the earth in thosedays, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they borechildrento them. Thosewerethe mighty men whowereof old, men of renown.

5 Then theLordsaw that the wickedness of manwasgreat in the earth, andthateveryintent of the thoughts of his heartwasonly evil continually.

6 AndtheLordwas sorry that He had made man on the earth, andHe was grieved in Hisheart.

7 So theLordsaid, “I willdestroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

8 But Noahfound grace in the eyes of theLord.

Noah Pleases God

9 This is the genealogy of Noah.Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noahwalked with God.

10 And Noah begot three sons:Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 The earth also was corruptbefore God, and the earth wasfilled with violence.

12 So Godlooked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; forall flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

The Ark Prepared

13 And God said to Noah,“The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them;and behold,I will destroy them with the earth.

14 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

15 And this is how you shall make it: The length of the arkshallbethree hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

16 You shall make a window for the ark, and you shall finish it to a cubit from above; and set the door of the ark in its side. You shall make itwithlower, second, and thirddecks.

17 And behold, I Myself am bringingfloodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in whichisthe breath of life; everything thatison the earth shalldie.

18 But I will establish Mycovenant with you; andyou shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bringtwo of everysortinto the ark, to keepthemalive with you; they shall be male and female.

20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of everykindwill come to you to keepthemalive.

21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gatheritto yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.”

22 Thus Noah did;according to all thatGod commanded him, so he did.

The Great Flood

1 Then theLordsaid to Noah,“Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seenthatyouarerighteous before Me in this generation.

2 You shall take with you seven each of everyclean animal, a male and his female;two each of animals thatareunclean, a male and his female;

3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth.

4 For afterseven more days I will cause it to rain on the earthforty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.”

5 And Noah did according to all that theLordcommanded him.

6 Noahwassix hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth.

7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood.

8 Of clean animals, of animals thatareunclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth,

9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, onthat day allthe fountains of the great deep were broken up, and thewindows of heaven were opened.

12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.

13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark—

14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of everysort.

15 And theywent into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in whichisthe breath of life.

16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went inas God had commanded him; and theLordshut him in.

17 Now the flood was on the earth forty days. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.

18 The waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth,and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters.

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.

20 The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and the mountains were covered.

21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth: birds and cattle and beasts and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

22 All inwhose nostrilswasthe breath of the spirit of life, all thatwason the dryland,died.

23 So He destroyed all living things which were on the face of the ground: both man and cattle, creeping thing and bird of the air. They were destroyed from the earth. OnlyNoah and those whowerewith him in the ark remainedalive.

24 And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.

Noah’s Deliverance

1 Then Godremembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the animals thatwerewith him in the ark.And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters subsided.

2 The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were alsostopped, andthe rain from heaven was restrained.

3 And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the endof the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased.

4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

5 And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month. In the tenthmonth,on the firstdayof the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.

6 So it came to pass, at the end of forty days, that Noahopened the window of the ark which he had made.

7 Then he sent out a raven, which kept going to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth.

8 He also sent out from himself a dove, to see if the waters had receded from the face of the ground.

9 But the dove found no resting place for the sole of her foot, and she returned into the ark to him, for the waterswereon the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her, and drew her into the ark to himself.

10 And he waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark.

11 Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leafwasin her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth.

12 So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the firstmonth,the firstdayof the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry.

14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.

15 Then God spoke to Noah, saying,

16 “Go out of the ark,you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you.

17 Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh thatiswith you: birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth, andbe fruitful and multiply on the earth.”

18 So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him.

19 Every animal, every creeping thing, every bird,andwhatever creeps on the earth, according to their families, went out of the ark.

God’s Covenant with Creation

20 Then Noah built analtar to theLord, and took ofevery clean animal and of every clean bird, and offeredburnt offerings on the altar.

21 And theLordsmelleda soothing aroma. Then theLordsaid in His heart, “I will never againcurse the ground for man’s sake, although theimagination of man’s heartisevil from his youth;nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

22 “While the earthremains,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Winter and summer,

# Andday and night

Shall not cease.”

God’s Promise to Noah

1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them:“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that moveonthe earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand.

3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given youall things, even as thegreen herbs.

4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life,thatis,its blood.

5 Surely for your lifeblood I will demandareckoning;from the hand of every beast I will require it, andfrom the hand of man. From the hand of everyman’s brother I will require the life of man.

6 “Whoeversheds man’s blood,

By man his blood shall be shed;

# For in the image of God

He made man.

7 And as for you,be fruitful and multiply;

Bring forth abundantly in the earth

And multiply in it.”

8 Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying:

9 “And as for Me,behold, I establishMy covenant with you and with your descendants after you,

10 and with every living creature thatiswith you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.

11 ThusI establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

12 And God said:“Thisisthe sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature thatiswith you, for perpetual generations:

13 I setMy rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;

15 andI will remember My covenant whichisbetween Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to rememberthe everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh thatison the earth.”

17 And God said to Noah, “Thisisthe sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh thatison the earth.”

Noah and His Sons

18 Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth.And Hamwasthe father of Canaan.

19 These threewerethe sons of Noah,and from these the whole earth was populated.

20 And Noah begantobea farmer, and he planted a vineyard.

21 Then he drank of the wineand was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent.

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laiditon both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faceswereturned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness.

24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him.

25 Then he said:

# “CursedbeCanaan;

# Aservant of servants

He shall be to his brethren.”

26 And he said:

# “BlessedbetheLord,

The God of Shem,

And may Canaan be his servant.

27 May Godenlarge Japheth,

# And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be his servant.”

28 And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.

29 So all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died.

Nations Descended from Noah

1 Now thisisthe genealogy of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.And sons were born to them after the flood.

2 The sons of JaphethwereGomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

3 The sons of GomerwereAshkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 The sons of JavanwereElishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 From thesethe coastlandpeoplesof the Gentiles were separated into their lands, everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.

6 The sons of HamwereCush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

7 The sons of CushwereSeba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah; and the sons of RaamahwereSheba and Dedan.

8 Cush begotNimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth.

9 He was a mightyhunter before theLord; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunterbefore theLord.”

10 And the beginning of his kingdom wasBabel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 From that land he went toAssyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah,

12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (thatisthe principal city).

13 Mizraim begot Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim,

14 Pathrusim, and Casluhim(from whom came the Philistines and Caphtorim).

15 Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, andHeth;

16 the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite;

17 the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite;

18 the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed.

19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

20 Thesewerethe sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages, in their landsandin their nations.

21 Andchildrenwere born also to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder.

22 Thesons of ShemwereElam, Asshur,Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

23 The sons of AramwereUz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

24 Arphaxad begotSalah, and Salah begot Eber.

25 To Eber were born two sons: the name of onewasPeleg, for in his days the earth was divided; and his brother’s namewasJoktan.

26 Joktan begot Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah,

27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba,

29 Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All thesewerethe sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling place was from Mesha as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.

31 Thesewerethe sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, according to their nations.

32 Thesewerethe families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, in their nations;and from these the nations were divided on the earth after the flood.

The Tower of Babel

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the landof Shinar, and they dwelt there.

3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bakethemthoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a towerwhose topisin the heavens; let us make aname for ourselves, lest webe scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But theLordcame down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

6 And theLordsaid, “Indeedthe peopleareone and they all haveone language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that theypropose to do will be withheld from them.

7 Come,let Us go down and thereconfuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”

8 SotheLordscattered them abroad from thereover the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

9 Therefore its name is called Babel,because there theLordconfused the language of all the earth; and from there theLordscattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

Shem’s Descendants

10 Thisisthe genealogy of Shem: Shemwasone hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.

11 After he begot Arphaxad, Shem lived five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

12 Arphaxad lived thirty-five years,and begot Salah.

13 After he begot Salah, Arphaxad lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

14 Salah lived thirty years, and begot Eber.

15 After he begot Eber, Salah lived four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and begotPeleg.

17 After he begot Peleg, Eber lived four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

19 After he begot Reu, Peleg lived two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and begotSerug.

21 After he begot Serug, Reu lived two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor.

23 After he begot Nahor, Serug lived two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and begotTerah.

25 After he begot Terah, Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

26 Now Terah lived seventy years, andbegot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah’s Descendants

27 Thisisthe genealogy of Terah: Terah begotAbram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran begot Lot.

28 And Haran died before his father Terah in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

29 Then Abram and Nahor took wives: the name of Abram’s wifewasSarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife,Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and the father of Iscah.

30 ButSarai was barren; she had no child.

31 And Terahtook his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them fromUr of the Chaldeans to go tothe land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there.

32 So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran.