Erat autem terra labii unius, et sermonum eorumdem.

Hitherto, the world had only one way of speech, only one language.

And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.

Cumque proficiscerentur de oriente, invenerunt campum in terra Sennaar, et habitaverunt in eo.

And now, as men travelled westwards, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and made themselves a home there;

And when they removed from the east, they found a plain in the land of Sennaar, and dwelt in it.

Dixitque alter ad proximum suum: Venite, faciamus lateres, et coquamus eos igni. Habueruntque lateres pro saxis, et bitumen pro cæmento:

Here we can make bricks, they said to one another, baked with fire; and they built, not in stone, but in brick, with pitch for their mortar.

And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.

et dixerunt: Venite, faciamus nobis civitatem et turrim, cujus culmen pertingat ad cælum: et celebremus nomen nostrum antequam dividamur in universas terras.

It would be well, they said, to build ourselves a city, and a tower in it with a top that reaches to heaven; we will make ourselves a great people, instead of scattering over the wide face of earth.

And they said: Come, let us make a city and a tower, the top whereof may reach to heaven: and let us make our name famous before we be scattered abroad into all lands.

Descendit autem Dominus ut videret civitatem et turrim, quam ædificabant filii Adam,

But now the Lord came down to look at the city, with its tower, which Adam’s children were building;

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building.

et dixit: Ecce, unus est populus, et unum labium omnibus: cœperuntque hoc facere, nec desistent a cogitationibus suis, donec eas opere compleant.

and he said, Here is a people all one, with a tongue common to all; this is but the beginning of their undertakings, and what is to prevent them carrying out all they design?

And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.

Venite igitur, descendamus, et confundamus ibi linguam eorum, ut non audiat unusquisque vocem proximi sui.

It would be well to go down and throw confusion into the speech they use there, so that they will not be able to understand each other.

Come ye, therefore, let us go down, and there confound their tongue, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

Atque ita divisit eos Dominus ex illo loco in universas terras, et cessaverunt ædificare civitatem.

Thus the Lord broke up their common home, and scattered them over the earth, and the building of the city came to an end.

And so the Lord scattered them from that place into all lands, and they ceased to build the city.

Et idcirco vocatum est nomen ejus Babel, quia ibi confusum est labium universæ terræ: et inde dispersit eos Dominus super faciem cunctarum regionum.

That is why it was called Babel, Confusion, because it was there that the Lord confused the whole world’s speech, and scattered them far away, over the wide face of earth.

And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded: and from thence the Lord scattered them abroad upon the face of all countries.

Hæ sunt generationes Sem: Sem erat centum annorum quando genuit Arphaxad, biennio post diluvium.

These were the descendants of Sem; Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

These are the generations of Sem: Sem was a hundred years old when he begot Arphaxad, two years after the flood.

Vixitque Sem, postquam genuit Arphaxad, quingentis annis: et genuit filios et filias.

He lived five hundred years more.

And Sem lived after he begot Arphaxad, five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

Porro Arphaxad vixit triginta quinque annis, et genuit Sale.

Arphaxad was thirty-five years old when he begot Sale,

And Arphaxad lived thirty-five years, and begot Sale.

Vixitque Arphaxad, postquam genuit Sale, trecentis tribus annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived three hundred and three years more.

And Arphaxad lived after he begot Sale, three hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters.

Sale quoque vixit triginta annis, et genuit Heber.

Sale was thirty years old when he begot Heber,

Sale also lived thirty years, and begot Heber.

Vixitque Sale, postquam genuit Heber, quadringentis tribus annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived four hundred and three years more.

And Sale lived after he begot Heber, four hundred and three years; and begot sons and daughters.

Vixit autem Heber triginta quatuor annis, et genuit Phaleg.

Heber was thirty-four years old when he begot Phaleg,

And Heber lived thirty-four years, and begot Phaleg.

Et vixit Heber postquam genuit Phaleg, quadringentis triginta annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived four hundred and thirty years more.

And Heber lived after he begot Phaleg, four hundred and thirty years: and begot sons and daughters.

Vixit quoque Phaleg triginta annis, et genuit Reu.

Phaleg was thirty years old when he begot Reu,

Phaleg also lived thirty years, and begot Reu.

Vixitque Phaleg, postquam genuit Reu, ducentis novem annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived two hundred and nine years more.

And Phaleg lived after he begot Reu, two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters.

Vixit autem Reu triginta duobus annis, et genuit Sarug.

Reu was thirty-two years old when he begot Sarug,

And Reu lived thirty-two years, and begot Sarug.

Vixit quoque Reu, postquam genuit Sarug, ducentis septem annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived two hundred and seven years more.

And Reu lived after he begot Sarug, two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

Vixit vero Sarug triginta annis, et genuit Nachor.

Sarug was thirty years old when he begot Nachor,

And Sarug lived thirty years, and begot Nachor.

Vixitque Sarug, postquam genuit Nachor, ducentis annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived two hundred years more.

And Sarug lived after he begot Nachor, two hundred years: and begot sons and daughters.

Vixit autem Nachor viginti novem annis, et genuit Thare.

Nachor was twenty-nine years old when he begot Thare,

And Nachor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Thare.

Vixitque Nachor, postquam genuit Thare, centum decem et novem annis: et genuit filios et filias.

and lived a hundred and nineteen years more. All these had other sons and daughters besides.

And Nachor lived after he begot Thare, a hundred and nineteen years: and begot sons and daughters.

Vixitque Thare septuaginta annis, et genuit Abram, et Nachor, et Aran.

And Thare, after reaching the age of seventy, became the father of Abram, of Nachor, and of Aran.

And Thare lived seventy years, and begot Abram, and Nachor, and Aran.

Hæ sunt autem generationes Thare: Thare genuit Abram, Nachor et Aran. Porro Aran genuit Lot.

These are the descendants of Thare; Thare’s sons were called Abram, Nachor and Aran, and Aran had a son called Lot.

And these are the generations of Thare: Thare begot Abram, Nachor, and Aran. And Aran begot Lot.

Mortuusque est Aran ante Thare patrem suum, in terra nativitatis suæ, in Ur Chaldæorum.

This Aran died before his father Thare, in Ur of the Chaldees, the country of his birth.

And Aran died before Thare his father, in the land of his nativity in Ur of the Chaldees.

Duxerunt autem Abram et Nachor uxores: nomen uxoris Abram, Sarai: et nomen uxoris Nachor, Melcha filia Aran, patris Melchæ, et patris Jeschæ.

Abram and Nachor married; Abram’s wife was called Sarai, and Nachor’s wife was called Melcha. Her father Aran had two children, Melcha herself and Jescha.

And Abram and Nachor married wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai: and the name of Nachor’s wife, Melcha, the daughter of Aran, father of Melcha, and father of Jescha.

Erat autem Sarai sterilis, nec habebat liberos.

Sarai was barren, and had no children.

And Sarai was barren, and had no children.

Tulit itaque Thare Abram filium suum, et Lot filium Aran, filium filii sui, et Sarai nurum suam, uxorem Abram filii sui, et eduxit eos de Ur Chaldæorum, ut irent in terram Chanaan: veneruntque usque Haran, et habitaverunt ibi.

And now Thare, with his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, son of Aran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, who had married his son Abram, left Ur of the Chaldees and set out for the land of Chanaan. They went as far as Haran, and there they settled.

And Thare took Abram, his son, and Lot the son of Aran, his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his son, and brought them out of Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Chanaan: and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.

Et facti sunt dies Thare ducentorum quinque annorum, et mortuus est in Haran.

At Haran, at the age of two hundred and five, Thare died.

And the days of Thare were two hundred and five years, and he died in Haran.