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interlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1SA 2SA PSA AMOS HOS 1KI 2KI 1CH 2CH PRO ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL YHN MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC GAL 1TH 2TH 1COR 2COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1TIM TIT 1PET 2PET 2TIM HEB YUD 1YHN 2YHN 3YHN REV
Gen 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 V6 V7 V8 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32
OET (OET-LV) On/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in yes/correct/thus/so someone_called his/its_name Bāⱱel if/because there YHWH he_confused the_language_of all_of the_earth/land and_from_there he/it_scattered_them YHWH over the_surface_of all_of the_earth/land.
OET (OET-RV) That’s why they named the city ‘Babel’ (meaning ‘mixed-up’) because it was there that Yahweh mixed up everyone’s language and then scattered them over the whole world.
קָרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙
he/it_called his/its=name
Frequently in the Hebrew text, this phrase has a general meaning and does not refer to someone specific. Alternate translation: [people named the city] or [the name of that city is] or [the city was named]
בָּבֶ֔ל
Bāⱱel
If you include the meaning of Babel here in your translation or in a footnote, be consistent with the way you translate confused later in this verse and in verse 7.
כִּי־שָׁ֛ם & יְהוָ֖ה
that/for/because/then/when there & YHWH
Alternate translation: [because it was in that city that Yahweh]
בָּלַ֥ל
he/it_confused
Alternate translation: [scrambled]
שְׂפַ֣ת כָּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ
language_of all/each/any/every the=earth/land
Alternate translation: [the language that everyone on the earth spoke]
וּמִשָּׁם֙ הֱפִיצָ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה
and=from=there he/it_scattered=them YHWH
Alternate translation: [and in that way Yahweh made them spread out from there]
עַל־פְּנֵ֖י כָּל־הָאָֽרֶץ
on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in on/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in face/surface_of all/each/any/every the=earth/land
See how you translated this phrase in verses 4 and 8. Alternate translation: [over the surface of the entire earth] or [all over the world]
11:9 Babel: The Babylonians viewed their city as the residence or gateway of the gods. The pun that concludes this account accurately reveals Babylon’s spiritual confusion. Babylon achieved prominence under Nimrod (10:10) and in later biblical history (see 2 Kgs 25:1-30). Its role as an epicenter of arrogance and idolatry make it a fitting image for the anti-God forces associated with the end of time (e.g., Rev 14:8; 16:19; 18:2).
• The tower builders had centralized to ascend into God’s realm (Gen 11:3-4). God descended and scattered them all over the world to frustrate their idolatrous ambition.
OET (OET-LV) On/upon/above/on_account_of//he/it_went_in yes/correct/thus/so someone_called his/its_name Bāⱱel if/because there YHWH he_confused the_language_of all_of the_earth/land and_from_there he/it_scattered_them YHWH over the_surface_of all_of the_earth/land.
OET (OET-RV) That’s why they named the city ‘Babel’ (meaning ‘mixed-up’) because it was there that Yahweh mixed up everyone’s language and then scattered them over the whole world.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.