1. And all the earth had one language and one speech.
2. And it came to be, as they set out from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shin‛ar, and they dwelt there.
3. And they said to each other, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
4. And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens, and make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over all the face of the earth.”
5. Then יהוה came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6. And יהוה said, “Look, they are one people and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do! And now, they are not going to be withheld from doing whatever they plan to do.
7. “Come, let Us go there and confuse their language, so that they do not understand one another’s speech.”
8. And יהוה scattered them from there, over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.
9. That is why its name was called Baḇel, because there יהוה confused the language of all the earth, and from there יהוה scattered them over the face of all the earth.
10. This is the genealogy of Shĕm: Shĕm was a hundred years old and brought forth Arpaḵshaḏ, two years after the flood.
11. And after he brought forth Arpaḵshaḏ, Shĕm lived five hundred years, and brought forth sons and daughters.