Genesis 11:1-9
New American Standard Bible
The Tower of Babel
11 Now all the earth [a]used the same language and [b]the same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed [c]east, that they found a plain in the land (A)of Shinar and [d]settled there. 3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks and [e]fire them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used (B)tar for mortar. 4 And they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top (C)will reach into heaven, and let’s make (D)a name for ourselves; otherwise we (E)will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth.” 5 Now (F)the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the [f]men had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have [g](G)the same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be [h]impossible for them. 7 Come, [i](H)let Us go down and there (I)confuse their [j]language, so that they will not understand one another’s [k]speech.” 8 So the Lord (J)scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named [l](K)Babel, because there the Lord confused the [m]language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 11:1 Lit was one lip
- Genesis 11:1 Or few or one set of words
- Genesis 11:2 Or from the east
- Genesis 11:2 Lit dwelt
- Genesis 11:3 I.e., in a kiln to harden them
- Genesis 11:5 Lit sons of mankind
- Genesis 11:6 Lit one lip
- Genesis 11:6 Lit inaccessible to
- Genesis 11:7 I.e., indicating united action, not a request
- Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:7 Lit lip
- Genesis 11:9 Or Babylon; cf. Heb balal, confuse
- Genesis 11:9 Lit lip
Genesis 11:1-9
New Living Translation
The Tower of Babel
11 At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. 2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia[a] and settled there.
3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.) 4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. 6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them! 7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”
8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why the city was called Babel,[b] because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.