Genesis 11:8

So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.

ASV

So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.

YLT

And Jehovah doth scatter them from thence over the face of all the earth, and they cease to build the city;

DBT

And Jehovah scattered them thence over the face of the whole earth. And they left off building the city.

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Commentary voices

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Voices3

On this verse

And they arose and came from the land of the east; and, as they went through the land, they chanced upon the land of Shinar, which was exceeding broad; where they took in hand to build a tower. They sought means thereby to go up to heaven, and be able to leave their work as a memorial to those men who should come after them.

Irenaeus· The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching, 202patristic

Related commentary

(5.) We may here lament the loss of the universal use of the Hebrew tongue, which from this time was the vulgar language of the Hebrews only, and continued so till the captivity in Babylon, where, even among them, it was exchanged for the Syriac.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

His country: Ur of the Chaldees. This was the land of his nativity, an idolatrous country, where even the children of Eber themselves had degenerated. Note, Those who are, through grace, heirs of the land of promise, ought to remember what was the land of their nativity, what was their corrupt and sinful state by nature, the rock out of which they were hewn.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

Voices on this verse

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Rabbinic commentary

How the Hebraic tradition has read this verse: and Marcus Brown’s own reading of it.

Cross-references

7 linked verses

The verses this one reaches7

Luke 1:51
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
Deuteronomy 32:8
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
Genesis 10:32
All these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their generations and nations. From these the nations of the earth spread out after the flood.
Genesis 10:25
Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.
Genesis 11:4
“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.”
Genesis 11:9
That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Genesis 49:7
Cursed be their anger, for it is strong, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Cross-references

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The Tower of Babel — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Genesis: The book of beginnings. Creation, fall, flood, covenant, election, providence, eleven generational seams stitch one unbroken story from heaven-and-earth to a coffin in Egypt.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Moses, by traditional attribution; the book is the first of the Pentateuch
Date: Composed c. 15th–13th century BC; draws on older patriarchal sources (the toledoth framework is internal)

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Deuteronomy 32:8
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when He divided the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
leads to
- Acts 17:26
  From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
  Reached by 4 independent paths from here.
Through
Luke 1:51
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
leads to
- Psalms 98:1
  Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done wonders; His right hand and holy arm have gained Him the victory.
- Isaiah 52:10
  The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
- 1 Samuel 2:3–4
  Do not boast so proudly, or let arrogance come from your mouth, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by Him actions are weighed.
Through
Genesis 11:9
That is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
leads to
- Genesis 10:10
  His kingdom began in Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
- Genesis 10:5
  From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.
- Genesis 10:20
  These are the sons of Ham according to their clans, languages, lands, and nations.
Through
Genesis 10:25
Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.
leads to
- 1 Chronicles 1:19
  Two sons were born to Eber: One was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and his brother was named Joktan.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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