Humanity, sharing one language, began constructing a city and tower in Babel, but God confounded their language and scattered them across the earth, followed by the genealogy from Shem to Terah, and Terah's journey towards Canaan.

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1 Now, in the whole earth, there was but one language and the same words were employed. 2 And as people journeyed from the east, they discovered a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." So they used bricks for stone, and they had bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they declared, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city and a tower, with its peak in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

5 But the Lord descended to see the city and the tower that humanity had constructed. 6 And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do. Now nothing that they propose to accomplish will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us descend and confound their language there, so that they may not understand one another's speech." 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they ceased building the city.

9 For this reason, its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confounded the language of the entire earth; and from there, the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth. 10 These are the generations of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old when he fathered Arpachshad, two years after the flood. 11 And Shem lived five hundred years after he fathered Arpachshad, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

12 When Arpachshad had lived thirty-five years, he fathered Shelah. 13 Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he fathered Shelah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 14 When Shelah had lived thirty years, he fathered Eber. 15 Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he fathered Eber, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber had lived thirty-four years, he fathered Peleg. 17 Eber lived four hundred and thirty years after he fathered Peleg, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 18 When Peleg had lived thirty years, he fathered Reu. 19 Peleg lived two hundred and nine years after he fathered Reu, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu had lived thirty-two years, he fathered Serug. 21 Reu lived two hundred and seven years after he fathered Serug, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 22 When Serug had lived thirty years, he fathered Nahor. 23 Serug lived two hundred years after he fathered Nahor, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived twenty-nine years, he fathered Terah. 25 Nahor lived one hundred and nineteen years after he fathered Terah, and he fathered other sons and daughters. 26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. 28 Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. 29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. 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 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.

31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), 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. 32 Terah lived two hundred and five years, and he died in Haran.

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The AIV (Artificial Intelligence Version) is a new translation at times derived directly from the original languages and at times derived from previous English renderings. The goal of the translation is to more closely connect ancient and modern readers. It aims to use the most up-to-date scholarship regarding biblical translation, and to avoid losing technicalities for the sake of simplicity.

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