The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New International Version NIV
1 The whole earth used the same language, the same words.
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Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
2 It came about that as they traveled from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shin'ar and lived there.
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As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to one another, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them in the fire." So they had bricks for building-stone and clay for mortar.
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They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4 Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city with a tower that has its top reaching up into heaven, so that we can make a name for ourselves and not be scattered all over the earth."
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Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
5 ADONAI came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
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But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
6 ADONAI said, "Look, the people are united, they all have a single language, and see what they're starting to do! At this rate, nothing they set out to accomplish will be impossible for them!
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The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
7 Come, let's go down and confuse their language, so that they won't understand each other's speech."
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Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 So from there ADONAI scattered them all over the earth, and they stopped building the city.
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So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
9 For this reason it is called Bavel [confusion] - because there ADONAI confused the language of the whole earth, and from there ADONAI scattered them all over the earth.
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That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.