The Story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9)
Genesis 11:1-9 · Berean Standard Bible
United by one language, humanity settles on a plain and builds a city with a tower 'to reach the heavens' to make a name for themselves. God confuses their language so they can no longer understand one another, scattering them across the earth. Genesis 11:1–9 explains the origin of the world's languages and the danger of human pride that reaches for God's place.
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1Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.
2And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
3And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
4“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”
5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.
6And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them.
7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”
8So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Read the wider context: Genesis 11.
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How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Keep notes on Genesis 11:1-9
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Related passages
- The Story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:4-3:24)
- The Story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1–16) (Genesis 4:1-16)
- The Story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 27:1–40) (Genesis 27:1-40)
- Jacob Wrestles with God (Genesis 32:22–32) (Genesis 32:22-32)
