The Tower of Babel
1 Now all the earth 11:1 Lit was one lipused the same language and 11:1 Or few or one set of wordsthe same words. 2 And it came about, as they journeyed 11:2 Or from the easteast, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and 11:2 Lit dweltsettled there. 3 Then they said to one another, "Come, let’s make bricks and 11:3 I.e., in a kiln to harden themfire them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. 4 And they said, "Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let’s make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of all the earth." 5 Now the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the 11:5 Lit sons of mankindmen had built. 6 And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have 11:6 Lit one lipthe same language. And this is what they have started to do, and now nothing which they plan to do will be 11:6 Lit inaccessible toimpossible for them. 7 Come, 11:7 I.e., indicating united action, not a requestlet Us go down and there confuse their 11:7 Lit liplanguage, so that they will not understand one another’s 11:7 Lit lipspeech." 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it was named 11:9 Or Babylon; cf. Heb balal, confuseBabel, because there the Lord confused the 11:9 Lit liplanguage of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.