Genesis 11

Read on churchofjesuschrist.org (with footnotes)

1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

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.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 2

And the whole earth was of the same language and of the same speech. And it came to pass that many journeyed from the east; and as they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and dwelt there in the plain of Shinar.
IV v. 1 (Inspired Version, 1867)

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 mortar.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 3

And they said one to another, Come, go to; let us make brick and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had slime for mortar.
IV v. 2 (Inspired Version, 1867)

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.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 4

And they said, Come, go to; let us build us a city and a tower whose top will be high, nigh unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
IV v. 3 (Inspired Version, 1867)

5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 5

And the Lord came down, beholding the city and the tower which the children of men were building;
IV v. 4 (Inspired Version, 1867)

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.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 6

And the Lord said, Behold, the people are the same, and they all have the same language; and this tower they begin to build; and now, nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined, except I, the Lord, confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So I, the Lord, will scatter them abroad from thence, upon all the face of the land and unto every quarter of the earth.
IV v. 5 (Inspired Version, 1867)

7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may 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.

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.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 9

And they were confounded and left off to build the city; and they hearkened not unto the Lord; therefore, is the name of it called Babel because the Lord was displeased with their works and did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face thereof.
IV v. 6 (Inspired Version, 1867)

10These are the generations of Shem: Shem was an hundred years old, and begat Arphaxad two years after the flood:

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 10

And these were the generations of Shem. And Shem, being a hundred years old, begat Arphaxad two years after the flood; and Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 7 (Inspired Version, 1867)

11And Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

12And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years, and begat Salah:

13And Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 13

And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years and begat Salah; and Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 8 (Inspired Version, 1867)

14And Salah lived thirty years, and begat Eber:

15And Salah lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 15

And Salah lived thirty years and begat Eber; and Salah lived after he begat Eber, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 9 (Inspired Version, 1867)

16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg:

17And Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 17

And Eber lived four and thirty years and begat Peleg; and Eber lived after he begat Peleg, four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 10 (Inspired Version, 1867)

18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu:

19And Peleg lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 19

And Peleg lived thirty years and begat Reu; and Peleg lived after he begat Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 11 (Inspired Version, 1867)

20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug:

21And Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 21

And Reu lived two and thirty years and begat Serug; and Reu lived after he begat Serug, two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 12 (Inspired Version, 1867)

22And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor:

23And Serug lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 23

And Serug lived thirty years and begat Nahor; and Serug lived after he begat Nahor, two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 13 (Inspired Version, 1867)

24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begat Terah:

25And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 25

And Nahor lived nine and twenty years and begat Terah; and Nahor lived after he begat Terah, a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
IV v. 14 (Inspired Version, 1867)

26And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 27

Now these were the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
IV v. 16 (Inspired Version, 1867)

28And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees.

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.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 29

And Abram and Nahor took them wives; and 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; but Sarai was barren, and she bare no child.
IV v. 18 (Inspired Version, 1867)

30But Sarai was barren; she had no 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.

JSTJoseph Smith Translation of v. 31

And 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 went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there.
IV v. 19 (Inspired Version, 1867)

32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.

Also cited in commentary

1 Nephi 1 — Lehi's Vision and the Tender Mercies of the Lord
- The council vision
1 Nephi 8 — The Tree, the Rod, and the Building — Two Geographies of the Soul
- The great and spacious building
- Where this lands
1 Nephi 11 — The Condescension of God and the Catechetical Tree
- The great and spacious building revealed
- Where this lands
2 Nephi 23 — Isaiah 13 — The Burden of Babylon, the Day of the Lord, the Sanctified Ones
- Where this lands
2 Nephi 24 — Isaiah 14 — Israel Restored, the Taunt-Song over Babylon's King, Lucifer Fallen from Heaven
- Where this lands
Alma 31 — The Rameumptom — Worship Turned Inside Out, and the Prayer of a Sorrowing Heart
- How the chapter is built
Ether 1 — From the Great Tower — Moroni Opens the Jaredite Record, and a Brother's Prayer Against the Confounding
Ether 2 — Serve the God of the Land — The Journey, the Barges, and the Decree Upon the Choice Land
- How the chapter is built
Helaman 6 — The Great Reversal — When the Lamanites Surpassed the Nephites
- How the chapter is built
Mosiah 11 — King Noah and the First Cry of Abinadi — A King Whose Heart Is Set on Riches, a Prophet Who Comes Among the People to Say Repent or Be Brought Into Bondage
- Noah's personal wickedness
- Where this lands
Mosiah 19 — Noah Burned With Fire — Abinadi's Prophecy Fulfilled, the Colony's Tribute Begins, and the Priests Vanish into the Wilderness
- Where this lands
Omni 1 — Omni — Five Voices on a Closing Plate, Mosiah's Flight to Zarahemla, the Mulekites Found, and the Stone of Coriantumr
Doctrine and Covenants 1 — The Lord's Preface to His Own Book
- Babylon, and the image of his own god
Doctrine and Covenants 133 — Go Ye Out from Babylon
- How this sits in the documentary record
- I have trodden the wine-press alone
Abraham 1 — The Records of the Fathers — Olishem's Altar, the Rescuing Angel, and the Priesthood of the Fathers
- How this chapter changes the reader

Cross-references are extracted from the project’s chapter essays — every link below points back into the original prose.

Public-domain text. The modern LDS edition with footnotes and chapter summaries is available on churchofjesuschrist.org ↗.

Study

Joseph Smith Translation

v. 2
And the whole earth was of the same language and of the same speech. And it came to pass that many journeyed from the east; and as they journeyed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and dwelt there in the plain of Shinar.
v. 3
And they said one to another, Come, go to; let us make brick and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had slime for mortar.
v. 4
And they said, Come, go to; let us build us a city and a tower whose top will be high, nigh unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
v. 5
And the Lord came down, beholding the city and the tower which the children of men were building;
v. 6
And the Lord said, Behold, the people are the same, and they all have the same language; and this tower they begin to build; and now, nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined, except I, the Lord, confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So I, the Lord, will scatter them abroad from thence, upon all the face of the land and unto every quarter of the earth.
v. 9
And they were confounded and left off to build the city; and they hearkened not unto the Lord; therefore, is the name of it called Babel because the Lord was displeased with their works and did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face thereof.
v. 10
And these were the generations of Shem. And Shem, being a hundred years old, begat Arphaxad two years after the flood; and Shem lived after he begat Arphaxad five hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 13
And Arphaxad lived five and thirty years and begat Salah; and Arphaxad lived after he begat Salah, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 15
And Salah lived thirty years and begat Eber; and Salah lived after he begat Eber, four hundred and three years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 17
And Eber lived four and thirty years and begat Peleg; and Eber lived after he begat Peleg, four hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 19
And Peleg lived thirty years and begat Reu; and Peleg lived after he begat Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 21
And Reu lived two and thirty years and begat Serug; and Reu lived after he begat Serug, two hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 23
And Serug lived thirty years and begat Nahor; and Serug lived after he begat Nahor, two hundred years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 25
And Nahor lived nine and twenty years and begat Terah; and Nahor lived after he begat Terah, a hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
v. 27
Now these were the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot.
v. 29
And Abram and Nahor took them wives; and 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; but Sarai was barren, and she bare no child.
v. 31
And 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 went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran and dwelt there.