Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. New Living Translation But the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. English Standard Version And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. Berean Standard Bible Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. King James Bible And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. New King James Version But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. New American Standard Bible Now the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the men had built. NASB 1995 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. NASB 1977 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. Legacy Standard Bible Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. Amplified Bible Now the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. Christian Standard Bible Then the LORD came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building. Holman Christian Standard Bible Then the LORD came down to look over the city and the tower that the men were building. American Standard Version And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. Contemporary English Version But when the LORD came down to look at the city and the tower, English Revised Version And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. GOD'S WORD® Translation The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. Good News Translation Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which they had built, International Standard Version However, the LORD descended to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building. Majority Standard Bible Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. NET Bible But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. New Heart English Bible And God came down to see the city and the tower, that humankind was building. Webster's Bible Translation And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men were building. World English Bible Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionAnd YHWH comes down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men have built; Young's Literal Translation And Jehovah cometh down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men have builded; Smith's Literal Translation And Jehovah will come down to see the city, and the tower which the sons of men built. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of Adam were building. Catholic Public Domain Version Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building. New American Bible The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. New Revised Standard Version The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which men were building. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And LORD JEHOVAH came down to see the city and the tower that the children of men were building. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. Brenton Septuagint Translation And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men built. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Tower of Babel…4“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.” 5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building. 6And 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.… Cross References Psalm 33:13-14 The LORD looks down from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. / From His dwelling place He gazes on all who inhabit the earth. Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men. Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, observing the evil and the good. 2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this matter. From now on, therefore, you will be at war.” Job 28:24 For He looks to the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. Jeremiah 32:19 the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. Exodus 3:8 I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. Isaiah 64:1-2 If only You would rend the heavens and come down, so that mountains would quake at Your presence, / as fire kindles the brushwood and causes the water to boil, to make Your name known to Your enemies, so that the nations will tremble at Your presence! Deuteronomy 26:15 Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.” Isaiah 63:15 Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained. Psalm 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. Psalm 53:2 God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God. Acts 17:30 Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent. Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Matthew 6:10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Treasury of Scripture And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built. Genesis 18:21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. Exodus 19:11 And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. Psalm 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. Jump to Previous Builded Building Built Children City TowerJump to Next Builded Building Built Children City TowerGenesis 11 1. One language in the world.2. The building of Babel. 5. It is interrupted by the confusion of tongues, and the builders dispersed. 10. The generations of Shem. 27. The generations of Terah, the father of Abram. 31. Terah, with Abram and Lot, move from Ur to Haran. Then the LORD came down This phrase emphasizes God's active involvement in human affairs. It suggests a divine intervention, highlighting that God is not distant but intimately aware of human actions. The anthropomorphic language ("came down") is used to convey God's inspection and judgment. This mirrors other instances in Scripture where God "comes down" to assess situations, such as in Exodus 3:8 when God comes down to deliver Israel from Egypt. to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building Persons / Places / Events 1. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, emphasizing His personal involvement and authority over creation. In this passage, He actively observes human actions. 2. The City and the Tower Refers to the city of Babel and the tower within it, which the people were building to make a name for themselves and avoid being scattered over the earth. 3. The Sons of Men This phrase refers to humanity collectively, emphasizing their unity and shared purpose in building the tower. 4. Babel The location where the events of Genesis 11 take place, later known as Babylon. It symbolizes human pride and rebellion against God. 5. The Event of Divine Observation God's action of "coming down" to see the city and the tower highlights His sovereignty and the futility of human efforts to reach divine status. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty and OmniscienceGod is fully aware of human actions and intentions. His "coming down" is a reminder that nothing escapes His notice, and He is actively involved in the affairs of the world. Human Pride and Rebellion The building of the tower represents humanity's pride and desire for self-sufficiency apart from God. This serves as a warning against the dangers of pride and the pursuit of self-glorification. The Futility of Human Efforts Against God’s Will Despite human efforts to establish their own plans, God's purposes will prevail. This encourages believers to align their goals with God's will rather than pursuing their own ambitions. The Importance of Obedience to God’s Commands The people’s attempt to avoid being scattered was in direct disobedience to God’s command to fill the earth. This highlights the importance of trusting and obeying God’s directives.(5-7) The Lord came down.--The narrative is given in that simple anthropological manner usual in the Book of Genesis, which so clearly sets before us God's loving care of man, and here and in Genesis 18:21 the equity of Divine justice. For Jehovah is described as a mighty king, who, hearing in His upper and heavenly dwelling of man's ambitious purpose, determines to go and inspect the work in person, that having seen, he may deal with the offenders justly. He views, therefore, "the city and the tower;" for the city was as important a portion of their purpose as the tower, or even more so. The tower, which, no doubt, was to be the citadel and protection of the city, was for the latter's sake to give the people a sense of strength and security. Having, then, inspected the tower and the city nestling round it, the Deity affirms that this centralisation is injurious to man's best interests, and must be counteracted by an opposite principle, namely, the tendency of mankind to make constant changes in language, and thereby to break up into different communities, kept permanently apart by the use of different tongues. At present "it is one people, and there is one lip to all of them, and this is what they begin to do," &c. Already there are thoughts among them of universal empire, and if thus the spread of mankind be hindered, and its division into numerous nations, each contributing its share to the progress and welfare of the world, be stopped, man will remain a poor debased creature, and will fail utterly in accomplishing the purpose for which he was placed upon earth. "Go to," therefore, He says, in irony of their twice repeated phrase, "we will go down, and make their speech unintelligible to one another." Now, though there is no assertion of a miracle here, yet we may well believe that there was an extraordinary quickening of a natural law which existed from the first. This, however, is but a secondary question, and the main fact is the statement that the Divine means for counteracting man's ambitious and ever-recurring dream of universal sovereignty is the law of diversity of speech. In ancient times there was little to counteract this tendency, and each city and petty district had its own dialect, and looked with animosity upon its neighbours who differed from it in pronunciation, if not in vocabulary. In the present day there are counteracting influences; and great communities, by the use of the same Bible and the possession of the same classical literature, may long continue to speak the same language. In days also when communication is so easy, not only do men travel much, but newspapers and serials published at the centre are dispersed to the most distant portions of the world. In old time it was not so, and probably Isaiah would not have been easily understood thirty miles from Jerusalem, nor Demosthenes a few leagues; from Athens. Without books or literature, a little-band of families wandering about with their cattle, with no communication with other tribes, would quickly modify both the grammar and the pronunciation of their language; and when, after a year or two, they revisited the tower, they would feel like foreigners in the new city, and quickly depart with the determination never to return. And to this day diversity of language is a powerful factor in keeping nations apart, or in preventing portions of the same kingdom from agreeing heartily together. And thus at Babel the first attempt to bind the human family into one whole came to an ignominious end.Verse 5. - And the Lord came down. Not in visible form, as in Exodus 19:20; Exodus 34:5 (Onkelos), but "effectu ostendens se propin quiorem quem absentem esse judicabant" (Poole), an anthropomorphism (cf. Genesis 18:21; Psalm 144:5). "It is measure for measure (par pari). Let us build up, say they, and scale the heavens. Let us go down, says God, and defeat their impious thought" (Rabbi Schelomo, quoted by T. Lewis). To see (with a view to judicial action) the city and the tower which the children of men - sons of Adam; neither the posterity of Cain, i.e. the Hamites exclusively, as the Sethites were called sons of God, Genesis 6:2 (Augustine), nor wicked men in general (Junius, Piscator), imitators of Adam, i.e. rebellantes Dee (Mode, Lyre), since then the Shemites would not have been participators in the undertaking (Drusius), which some think, to have been their work exclusively (Inglis); but the members of the human race, or at least their leaders - builded. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Then the LORDיְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel came down וַיֵּ֣רֶד (way·yê·reḏ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 3381: To come or go down, descend to see לִרְאֹ֥ת (lir·’ōṯ) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 7200: To see the city הָעִ֖יר (hā·‘îr) Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 5892: Excitement and the tower הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל (ham·miḡ·dāl) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 4026: A tower, a rostrum, a, bed of flowers that אֲשֶׁ֥ר (’ă·šer) Pronoun - relative Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that the sons בְּנֵ֥י (bə·nê) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 1121: A son of men הָאָדָֽם׃ (hā·’ā·ḏām) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being were building. בָּנ֖וּ (bā·nū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 1129: To build Links Genesis 11:5 NIVGenesis 11:5 NLT Genesis 11:5 ESV Genesis 11:5 NASB Genesis 11:5 KJV Genesis 11:5 BibleApps.com Genesis 11:5 Biblia Paralela Genesis 11:5 Chinese Bible Genesis 11:5 French Bible Genesis 11:5 Catholic Bible OT Law: Genesis 11:5 Yahweh came down to see the city (Gen. Ge Gn) |