They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”
Parallel translations
- KJV And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
- BSB “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.”
- NKJV And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”
- NASB 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.”
- NLT Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They resolved to build a city and a tower reaching the heavens, to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered. Their project expresses pride and defiance of God's command.
Overview
The builders seek glory, security, and unity apart from God, directly resisting His command to fill the earth. Making a name for themselves stands in contrast to the name God would later give Abraham. This prideful self-exaltation is the heart of Babel's sin, reversed only by the humility of Christ, who made Himself nothing to exalt His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 5:44How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?
- Deut 1:28Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’”
- Luke 1:51He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
- Deut 9:1Hear, Israel! You are to pass over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to the sky,
- Dan 4:30The king spoke and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
- Ps 49:11–13Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever, and their dwelling places to all generations. They name their lands after themselves.
- Prov 10:7The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- 2 Sam 8:13David earned a reputation when he returned from striking down eighteen thousand men of the Syrians in the Valley of Salt.
- Dan 4:11The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.
- Gen 6:4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when God’s sons came in to men’s daughters and had children with them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
- Ps 92:9For, behold, your enemies, Yahweh, for, behold, your enemies shall perish. All the evildoers will be scattered.
- Gen 11:8–9So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.
- Dan 4:22it is you, O king, that are grown and become strong; for your greatness is grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
- Deut 4:27Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations, where Yahweh will lead you away.
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 11:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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