The Message Bible MSG
New International Version NIV
1 At one time, the whole Earth spoke the same language.
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Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
2 It so happened that as they moved out of the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled down.
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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 fire them well." They used brick for stone and tar 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 and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across 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 God came down to look over the city and the tower those people had built.
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But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
6 God took one look and said, "One people, one language; why, this is only a first step. No telling what they'll come up with next - they'll stop at nothing!
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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, we'll go down and garble their speech so they won't understand each other."
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Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
8 Then God scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit 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 That's how it came to be called Babel, because there God turned their language into "babble." From there God scattered them all over the world.
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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.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
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.