Genesis 11 Unlocked Literal Bible

About ULB

Protestant
OT: Masoretic Hebrew
NT: Critical text (not verified)
Protestant (66 books)
Formal (word for word)
2017
CC BY-SA 4.0

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

ULB Unlocked Literal Bible

WEB World English Bible (Classic, with Deuterocanon)

1 Now the whole earth used one language and had the same words.

1 The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

2 As they journeyed in the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and they settled there.

2 As they traveled east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they lived there.

3 They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick instead of stone and tar as mortar.

3 They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

4 They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top will reach to the sky, and let us make a name for ourselves. If we do not, we will be scattered across the surface of the whole earth.”

4 They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”

5 So Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the descendants of Adam had built.

5 Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.

6 Yahweh said, “Look, they are one people with the same language, and they are beginning to do this! Soon nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them.

6 Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.

7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they may not understand each other.”

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

8 So Yahweh scattered them from there across the surface of all the earth and they stopped building the city.

8 So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.

9 Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth and from there Yahweh scattered them abroad over the surface of all the earth.

9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of all the earth. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.

10 ◆ These were the descendants of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and he became the father of Arphaxad two years after the flood.

10 This is the history of the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he became the father of Arpachshad two years after the flood.

11 ◆ Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arphaxad. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

11 Shem lived five hundred years after he became the father of Arpachshad, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

12 ◆ When Arphaxad had lived thirty-five years, he became the father of Shelah.

12 Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and became the father of Shelah.

13 ◆ Arphaxad lived 403 years after he became the father of Shelah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

13 Arpachshad lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Shelah, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

14 ◆ When Shelah had lived thirty years, he became the father of Eber.

14 Shelah lived thirty years, and became the father of Eber.

15 ◆ Shelah lived 403 years after he became the father of Eber. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

15 Shelah lived four hundred three years after he became the father of Eber, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

16 ◆ When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he became the father of Peleg.

16 Eber lived thirty-four years, and became the father of Peleg.

17 ◆ Eber lived 430 years after he became the father of Peleg. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

17 Eber lived four hundred thirty years after he became the father of Peleg, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

18 ◆ When Peleg had lived thirty years, he became the father of Reu.

18 Peleg lived thirty years, and became the father of Reu.

19 ◆ Peleg lived 209 years after he became the father of Reu. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

19 Peleg lived two hundred nine years after he became the father of Reu, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

20 ◆ When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he became the father of Serug.

20 Reu lived thirty-two years, and became the father of Serug.

21 ◆ Reu lived 207 years after he became the father of Serug. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

21 Reu lived two hundred seven years after he became the father of Serug, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

22 ◆ When Serug had lived thirty years, he became the father of Nahor.

22 Serug lived thirty years, and became the father of Nahor.

23 ◆ Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

23 Serug lived two hundred years after he became the father of Nahor, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

24 ◆ When Nahor had live twenty-nine years, he became the father of Terah.

24 Nahor lived twenty-nine years, and became the father of Terah.

25 ◆ Nahor lived 119 years after he became the father of Terah. He also became the father of other sons and daughters.

25 Nahor lived one hundred nineteen years after he became the father of Terah, and became the father of more sons and daughters.

26 ◆ After Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

26 Terah lived seventy years, and became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these were the descendants of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran became the father of Lot.

27 Now this is the history of the generations of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran became the father of Lot.

28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans.

28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldees, while his father Terah was still alive.

29 Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah, a daughter of Haran, who was the father of Milkah and Iskah.

29 Abram and Nahor married wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, who was also the father of Iscah.

30 Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

30 Sarai was barren. She had no child.

31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of his son Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife, and together they left Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. But they came to Haran and stayed there.

31 Terah took Abram his son, Lot the son of Haran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife. They went from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. They came to Haran and lived there.

32 Terah lived 205 years and then died in Haran.

32 The days of Terah were two hundred five years. Terah died in Haran.

People & places in this chapter

From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.

People

Arphaxad
Son of Shem
Born two years after the flood, a link from Shem toward Abraham.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 10:22–24; 11:10–13
See in the family tree
Eber
Namesake of the Hebrews
The name behind the word 'Hebrew,' father of Peleg.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 10:24–25; 11:14–17
See in the family tree
Haran
Father of Lot
Abraham's brother who died young in Ur, leaving his son Lot.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:26–31
See in the family tree
Lot
Abraham's nephew
Abraham's nephew who chose the plain of Jordan and settled near Sodom.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11–14; 19
See in the family tree
Nahor
Abraham's grandfather
The grandfather of Abraham, standing just before Terah in the line.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:22–25
See in the family tree
Nahor
Son of Terah, brother of Abram
Terah's son and the brother of Abram and Haran, who took Milcah, the daughter of Haran, as his wife.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:26; Genesis 11:27; Genesis 11:29
See in the family tree
Peleg
Son of Eber
In his days, Scripture says, the earth was divided.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 10:25; 11:16–19
See in the family tree
Reu
Son of Peleg
A link in the generations descending toward Abraham.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:18–21
See in the family tree
Serug
Son of Reu
Great-grandfather of Abraham in the line from Shem.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:20–23
See in the family tree
Shelah
Son of Arphaxad
A quiet link in the line from Shem to Eber and Abraham.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 10:24; 11:12–15
See in the family tree
Shem
Ancestor of the Hebrews
Noah's blessed son, ancestor of the Semitic peoples and of Abraham.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 9:18–10:31; 11:10–26
See in the family tree
Terah
Father of Abraham
He left Ur with his family and journeyed toward Canaan, settling in Haran.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:24–32
See in the family tree

Places

Haran
Today: Southern Turkey (Upper Mesopotamia)
A caravan city in Upper Mesopotamia and the family's waypoint between Ur and Canaan. Abraham departed from here for Canaan; Jacob later sojourned with Laban nearby.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:31; Genesis 12:4; Genesis 28:10
Bible map game · View on OpenStreetMap
Ur
Today: Southern Iraq (near the Euphrates)
Traditionally the southern Sumerian city (Tell el-Muqayyar) with its famous ziggurat, though some scholars argue for a northern Ur (location debated). Abraham set out from here.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 11:31; Genesis 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7
Bible map game · View on OpenStreetMap

Cross references (23)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

Why does my Bible say something different?

Genesis 5 and 11: why the patriarchs’ ages differ
In the Greek Septuagint most patriarchs in Genesis 5 and 11 become fathers about 100 years later than in the Hebrew text, and Genesis 11 adds a second Cainan, whom St Luke also names (Luke 3:36). The result is a world history over a thousand years longer. The Byzantine calendar was built on the Greek numbers. No doctrine depends on either set.

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

Quotes verse 11:1–9 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XVI, Chapters 3–4)
Therefore the name of it is called Confusion; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and the Lord God scattered them thence on the face of all the earth." This city, which was called Confusion, is the same as Babylon, whose wonderful construction Gentile history also notices.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Quotes verse 11:6 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XVI, Chapters 5–8)
The words, "Nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do," are assuredly not meant as an affirmation, but as an interrogation, such as is used by persons threatening, as e.g., when Dido exclaims, "They will not take arms and pursue?" We are to understand the words as if it had been said, Shall nothing be restrained …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)
Quotes verse 11:27–29 Augustine of Hippo, The City of God (Book XVI, Chapters 12–15)
And Abram and Nahor took them 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 the father of Iscah." This Iscah is supposed to be the same as Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 2 (1887)