Genesis 11:1-9
King James Version
11 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
4 And 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.
5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And 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.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore 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.
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Genesis 11:1-9
International Children’s Bible
The Languages Confused
11 At this time the whole world spoke one language. Everyone used the same words. 2 As people moved from the East, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia. They settled there to live.
3 They said to each other, “Let’s make bricks and bake them to make them hard.” So they used bricks instead of stones, and tar instead of mortar. 4 Then they said to each other, “Let’s build for ourselves a city and a tower. And let’s make the top of the tower reach high into the sky. We will become famous. If we do this, we will not be scattered over all the earth.”
5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. 6 The Lord said, “Now, these people are united. They all speak the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do. They will be able to do anything they want. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language. Then they will not be able to understand each other.”
8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth. And they stopped building the city. 9 That is where the Lord confused the language of the whole world. So the place is called Babel.[a] So the Lord caused them to spread out from there over all the whole world.
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- 11:9 Babel This name sounds like the Hebrew word for “confused.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
