American Standard Version
Genesis 11:5
5And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Genesis 11:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
- New International Version (NIV)But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
Context of Genesis 11:5
3And they said one to another, Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4And they said, Come, 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. And Jehovah came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And 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. 7Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
Read all of Genesis 11Genesis 11:5 word by word
וַיֵּ֣רֶד יְהוָ֔ה לִרְאֹ֥ת אֶת־הָעִ֖יר וְאֶת־הַמִּגְדָּ֑ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר בָּנ֖וּ בְּנֵ֥י הָאָדָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Genesis 11:5
- Genesis 18:21I 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 19:11and be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
- Psalms 11:4Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
- Psalms 33:13Jehovah looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men;
- Jeremiah 23:23Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off?
- John 3:13And no one hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man, who is in heaven.
- Hebrews 4:13And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Commentaries on Genesis 11:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5And the Lord came down - A lesson, says an ancient Jewish commentator, to magistrates to examine every evidence before they decree judgment and execute justice.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-9Verses 1-9 - The Confusion of Tongues 1. נסע nāsa‛ “pluck out, break up, journey.” מקדם mı̂qedem “eastward, or on the east side” as in Genesis 2:14; Genesis 13:11; Isaiah 9:11 (12). 6. החלם hachı̂lām “their beginning”, for החלם hăchı̂lām the regular form of this infinitive with a suffix. יזמוּ yāzmû as if from יזם yāzam = זמם zāmam נבלה nābelâh usually said to be for נבלה nābolâh from בלל bālal but evidently designed by the punctuator to be…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-9Verses 5-9 Here is an expression after the manner of men; The Lord came down to see the city. God is just and fair in all he does against sin and sinners, and condemns none unheard. Pious Eber is not found among this ungodly crew; for he and his are called the children of God; their souls joined not themselves to the assembly of these children of men. God suffered them to go on some way, that the works of their hands, from which they promised themselves…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5came down: The tower was a human attempt to reach up to God’s realm (God’s dwelling place; see Deuteronomy 26:15; Psalms 2:4; 103:19; 115:16). This effort was foolish. God had to “come down” to see what they were building, which shows how small and weak their work really was.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-321. the whole earth was of one language. The descendants of Noah, united by the strong bond of a common language, had not separated, and notwithstanding the divine command to replenish the earth, were unwilling to separate. The more pious and well-disposed would of course obey the divine will; but a numerous body, seemingly the aggressive horde mentioned (Ge 10:10), determined to please themselves by occupying the fairest region they came to.Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 11:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 11
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries