| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. | 1At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary. |
| 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. | 2As people migrated from the east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. |
| 3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. | 3They said to each other, "Come, let us make oven-fired bricks." They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar. |
| 4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. | 4And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky. Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth." |
| 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. | 5Then the LORD came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. |
| 6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. | 6The LORD said, "If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. |
| 7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. | 7Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another's speech." |
| 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. | 8So from there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. |
| 9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. | 9Therefore its name is called Babylon, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth. |
| 10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood: | 10These are the family records of Shem. Shem lived 100 years and fathered Arpachshad two years after the flood. |
| 11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. | 11After he fathered Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah: | 12Arpachshad lived 35 years and fathered Shelah. |
| 13And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. | 13After he fathered Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 14And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber: | 14Shelah lived 30 years and fathered Eber. |
| 15And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters. | 15After he fathered Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg: | 16Eber lived 34 years and fathered Peleg. |
| 17And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters. | 17After he fathered Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu: | 18Peleg lived 30 years and fathered Reu. |
| 19And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters. | 19After he fathered Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug: | 20Reu lived 32 years and fathered Serug. |
| 21And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters. | 21After he fathered Serug, Reu lived 207 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor: | 22Serug lived 30 years and fathered Nahor. |
| 23And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. | 23After he fathered Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah: | 24Nahor lived 29 years and fathered Terah. |
| 25And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters. | 25After he fathered Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and fathered other sons and daughters. |
| 26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. | 26Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. |
| 27Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. | 27These are the family records of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran fathered Lot. |
| 28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. | 28Haran died in his native land, in Ur of the Chaldeans, during his father Terah's lifetime. |
| 29And 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. | 29Abram and Nahor took wives: Abram's wife was named Sarai, and Nahor's wife was named Milcah. She was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. |
| 30But Sarai was barren; she had no child. | 30Sarai was unable to conceive; she did not have a child. |
| 31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. | 31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram's wife, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. |
| 32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran. | 32Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran. |
|
