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OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEB WMB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE MOF JPS ASV DRA YLT DBY RV WBS KJB BB GNV CB TNT WYC SR-GNT UHB Related Parallel Interlinear Dictionary Search
parallelVerse INT GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PRO ECC SNG ISA JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs ROM 1COR 2COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1TH 2TH 1TIM 2TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1PET 2PET 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN YUD REV
Gen Intro C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 C38 C39 C40 C41 C42 C43 C44 C45 C46 C47 C48 C49 C50
Gen 11 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32
Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. This view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on the version abbreviation to see the verse in more of its context.
OET (OET-RV) and he said, “Look, they’re just one people group, and they all speak the same language. This is only the beginning of what they can do together—soon they’ll be capable of doing anything they plan to do.
OET-LV And_he/it_said Yahweh here a_people one and_(a)_language one to/for_all_them and_this their_beginning for_doing and_now not it_will_be_withheld from_them all that they_will_plan for_doing.
UHB וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ ‡
(vayyoʼmer yahweh hēn ˊam ʼeḩād vəsāfāh ʼaḩat ləkullām vəzeh haḩillām laˊₐsōt vəˊattāh loʼ-yibāʦēr mēhem ⱪol ʼₐsher yāzəmū laˊₐsōt.)
Key: yellow:verbs, red:negative, green:YHWH.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
ULT And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language. So this is what they have begun to do, and now everything that they plan to do will not be impossible for them.
UST Then he said, “Look, they are one people group, and they all speak the same language. This is only the beginning of what they can do together. Soon they will be able to do anything they plan to do.
BSB And 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.
OEB he said, ‘See, they are one people and all have one language. This is only the beginning of their activity, and now nothing that they propose to do will seem too difficult for them.
WEB Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.
WMB The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.
NET And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.
LSV and YHWH says, “Behold, the people [is] one, and one language [is] to them all, and this it has dreamed of doing; and now, nothing is restrained from them of that which they have purposed to do.
FBV The Lord said, “Look! These people are united and they all speak one language. If this is what they can do now when they're just getting started, nothing will be impossible for them when they all put their minds to it!
T4T Yahweh said, “These people are one group that all speak the same language. If they have begun to do this now, then ◄there is nothing that they will decide to do that will be impossible for them/they will be able to do whatever they decide to do► [LIT]!
LEB And Yahweh said, “Behold, they are one people with one language,[fn] andthis is only the beginning of what they will do.[fn] So[fn] now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them.
?:? Literally “one people and one language to all of them”
?:? Literally “and this they begin to do”
?:? Or “And”
BBE And the Lord said, See, they are all one people and have all one language; and this is only the start of what they may do: and now it will not be possible to keep them from any purpose of theirs.
MOF No MOF GEN book available
JPS And the LORD said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
ASV And Jehovah said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
DRA And he said: Behold, it is one people, and all have one tongue: and they have begun to do this, neither will they leave off from their designs, till they accomplish them in deed.
YLT and Jehovah saith, 'Lo, the people [is] one, and one pronunciation [is] to them all, and this it hath dreamed of doing; and now, nothing is restrained from them of that which they have purposed to do.
DBY And Jehovah said, Behold, the people is one, and have all one language; and this have they begun to do. And now will they be hindered in nothing that they meditate doing.
RV And the LORD said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do: and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
WBS And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
KJB And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
(And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. )
BB And the Lorde sayd: Beholde, the people is one, and they haue all one language, and this they begin to do: neither is there any let to them from all those thinges whiche they haue imagined to do.
(And the Lord said: Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do: neither is there any let to them from all those things which they have imagined to do.)
GNV And the Lord said, Beholde, the people is one, and they all haue one language, and this they begin to doe, neither can they now be stopped from whatsoeuer they haue imagined to do.
(And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they all have one language, and this they begin to doe, neither can they now be stopped from whatsoever they have imagined to do. )
CB And ye LORDE saide: Beholde, the people is one, & haue one maner of language amoge the all, & this haue they begonne to do, & wil not leaue of from all yt they haue purposed to do.
(And ye/you_all LORD said: Behold, the people is one, and have one manner of language among the all, and this have they begonne to do, and will not leave of from all it they have purposed to do.)
WYC And he seide, Lo! the puple is oon, and o langage is to alle, and thei han bigunne to make this, nethir thei schulen ceesse of her thouytis, til thei fillen tho in werk; therfor come ye, go we doun,
(And he said, Lo! the people is oon, and o langage is to all, and they have bigunne to make this, neither they should cease of her thouytis, til they fillen tho in werk; therefore come ye, go we down,)
LUT Und der HErr sprach: Siehe, es ist einerlei Volk und einerlei Sprache unter ihnen allen, und haben das angefangen zu tun; sie werden nicht ablassen von allem, das sie vorgenommen haben zu tun.
(And the LORD spoke: Siehe, it is einerlei people and einerlei Sprache under ihnen allen, and have the angefangen to tun; they/she/them become not ablassen from allem, the they/she/them vorgenommen have to tun.)
CLV et dixit: Ecce, unus est populus, et unum labium omnibus: cœperuntque hoc facere, nec desistent a cogitationibus suis, donec eas opere compleant.
(and dixit: Ecce, unus it_is populus, and unum labium omnibus: cœperuntque hoc facere, but_not desistent a cogitationibus to_his_own, until eas opere compleant. )
BRN And the Lord said, Behold, there is one race, and one lip of all, and they have begun to do this, and now nothing shall fail from them of all that they may have undertaken to do.
BrLXX Καὶ εἶπε Κύριος, ἰδοὺ γένος ἓν, καὶ χεῖλος ἓν πάντων, καὶ τοῦτο ἤρξαντο ποιῆσαι, καὶ νῦν οὐκ ἐκλείψει ἀπʼ αὐτῶν πάντα ὅσα ἂν ἐπιθῶνται ποιεῖν.
(Kai eipe Kurios, idou genos hen, kai ⱪeilos hen pantōn, kai touto aʸrxanto poiaʸsai, kai nun ouk ekleipsei apʼ autōn panta hosa an epithōntai poiein. )
11:6 If left unchecked, the tower builders’ solidarity and ambition would allow human wickedness to flourish in unimaginable ways.
Babel: The Dispersion of Nations
The story of the tower of Babel, whose peak was to reach to heaven, explains how nations and ethnic groups were separated by language barriers and scattered geographically. After the Flood, when God had judged an exceedingly wicked human race, humans again rebelled against their Creator by constructing a tower “that reaches into the sky” (Gen 11:4). Instead of worshiping the Lord, their intention was to exalt themselves and unify themselves apart from the Lord. God saw the danger that this posed: Their independence and arrogance would set them right back into a whirlpool of wickedness and, ultimately, destruction. So God intervened to “confuse the people with different languages” (11:7) and “[scatter] them all over the world” (11:9). Babel thus begins the history of differences and misunderstandings between peoples and nations who cannot understand one another’s languages and cultures—a separation that only begins to be reversed with the coming of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 2).
After the dispersion of the nations at Babel, God renewed his relationship with humanity in Abraham and his descendants (Gen 12:1-9). In contrast with the people at Babel, Abraham was righteous because he “believed the Lord” and lived by faith in God rather than pride in his accomplishments (15:6; 17:1; 18:19; 26:5).
Passages for Further Study
Note 1 topic: writing-pronouns
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה
and=he/it_said YHWH
Consider what is the best way to refer to Yahweh here in your language. Alternate translation: “And he said (to himself),” or “He said,”
הֵ֣ן
if
This term calls attention to what Yahweh says next. Consider what is the best way to do that in your language.
עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙
people one(ms)
The Hebrew text is ambiguous here. It could mean: (1) “they are one people/ethnic group,” or (2) “the/these people are one/united in what they are doing,”
וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם
and=(a)_language one(fs) to/for=all=them
See how you translated have one language in verse 1. Alternate translation: “and they all share the same language.”
וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת
and=this their=beginning for=doing
Alternate translation: “This is only the beginning of what they will do together.”
וְעַתָּה֙
and=now
Alternate translation: “Now”
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives
לֹֽא יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת
not it_will_be_impossible from=them all which/who they_will_devise for=doing
The words not and impossible are two negatives that work together to communicate an emphatic positive statement. Consider what is the best way to translate this in your language. Alternate translation: “nothing that they plan to do will be impossible for them.” or “anything they attempt to do will be possible for them.” or “they will be able to do whatever they try to do.”