Genesis 11:3 - Forerunner Commentary

Genesis 11:3

The Tower of Babel

1 Now the whole earth had one language and one¹ speech.

2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land ^aof Shinar, and they dwelt there.

3 Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and¹ bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower ^awhose top is in the heavens; let us make a ^bname for ourselves, lest we ^cbe scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

5 ^aBut the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

6 And the Lord said, “Indeed ^athe people are one and they all have ^bone language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they ^cpropose to do will be withheld from them.

Verse Comparison: Genesis 11:3

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American Standard Version
And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

Amplified® Bible
And they said one to another, Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly. So they had brick for stone, and slime (bitumen) for mortar.

Contemporary English Version
they said: Let's build a city with a tower that reaches to the sky! We'll use hard bricks and tar instead of stone and mortar. We'll become famous, and we won't be scattered all over the world.

Darby English Version
And they said one to another, Come on, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

Good News Bible
They said to one another, "Come on! Let's make bricks and bake them hard." So they had bricks to build with and tar to hold them together.

King James Version
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 mortar.

New American Standard Bible
They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn {them} thoroughly. And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar."

New International Version
They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.

New King James Version
Then they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.

Revised Standard Version
And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

Young's Literal Translation
and they say each one to his neighbour, `Give help, let us make bricks, and burn `them' thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to them for mortar.

New English Translation
Then they said to one another,¹ “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”² (They had brick instead of stone and tar³ instead of mortar.)⁴

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Genesis 11:4 >>