Genesis 11:1-9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Tower of Babylon
11 At one time the whole earth had the same language and vocabulary.[a] 2 As people[b] migrated from the east,[c] they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.(A) 3 They said to each other, “Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” They used brick for stone and asphalt for mortar.(B) 4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky.(C) Let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 Then the Lord came down(D) to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let Us go down there and confuse[d] their language[e] so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”[f] 8 So from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth,(E) and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babylon,[g](F) for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
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- Genesis 11:1 Lit one lip and the same words
- Genesis 11:2 Lit they
- Genesis 11:2 Or migrated eastward
- Genesis 11:7 Or confound
- Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:7 Lit understand each man the lip of his companion
- Genesis 11:9 In Hb, the name Babylon sounds like the word “confuse.”
Genesis 11:1-9
International Standard Version
The Tower in Babylon
11 There was a time when the entire earth spoke a common language with an identical vocabulary. 2 As people[a] migrated westward,[b] they came across a plain in the region of Shinar[c] and settled there. 3 They told each other, “Come on! Let’s burn bricks thoroughly.” They used bricks for stone and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come on! Let’s build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let’s make a name for ourselves[d] so we won’t be scattered over the surface of the whole earth.”
5 However, the Lord descended to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building. 6 The Lord said, “Look! They are one people with the same language for all of them, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.[e] Nothing that they have a mind to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come on! Let’s go down there and confuse their language, so that they won’t understand each other’s speech.”
8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the surface of the whole earth, so that they had to stop building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babylon,[f] because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered them over the surface of the entire earth.
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- Genesis 11:2 Lit. they
- Genesis 11:2 Lit. migrated from the east; i.e. from the mountains of Ararat
- Genesis 11:2 I.e. Babylonia or ancient Sumer
- Genesis 11:4 The Heb. lacks for ourselves
- Genesis 11:6 The Heb. lacks of what they will do
- Genesis 11:9 The Heb. name Babel means confusion
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