Genesis 11:6

Genesis 11:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.

Context of Genesis 11:6

4They said, ‘Let us build a city to live in. We should also build a very tall tower. The tower will go up into the heavens. Then we will always be famous. If we do that, we will not have to separate and go to live in different places on the earth.’ 5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower. He saw that the people had started to build them. The Lord said, ‘Because they all speak the same language, they are able to do this. If they can do this together, they may decide to do whatever they want. 7Now we must go down to them. We must make their language become confused. Then they will not be able to understand each other.’ 8So the Lord separated the people from one another. They went to live in different lands all over the earth. They stopped building the city for themselves.

Genesis 11:6 word by word

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָ֗ה הֵ֣ן עַ֤ם אֶחָד֙ וְשָׂפָ֤ה אַחַת֙ לְכֻלָּ֔ם וְזֶ֖ה הַחִלָּ֣ם לַעֲשׂ֑וֹת וְעַתָּה֙ לֹֽא־יִבָּצֵ֣ר מֵהֶ֔ם כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר יָזְמ֖וּ לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Behold, the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
• languageשָׂפָהώâphâh ώepheth · lip: languageH8193
• and this they beginחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: beginH2490
• to doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• and now nothingכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• and now nothingלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• will be restrainedבָּצַרbâtsar · to gather/restrain/fortifyH1219
• from them, which they have imaginedזָמַםzâmam · to planH2161

Cross-references for Genesis 11:6

• Genesis 3:22The Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us because he understands good and evil. So we must not let him take fruit from the tree that gives life. If he eats that fruit, he will live for ever.’
• Judges 10:14Go and ask those other gods to help you! They are the gods that you have chosen, so let them rescue you from your trouble!’
• 1 Kings 18:27At noon, Elijah began to laugh at them. ‘Shout louder!’ he said. ‘He is a god, isn't he? Maybe he is thinking about something else! Or has he left the room for a moment? Maybe he has gone away from home on a journey. Or perhaps he is asleep and you need to wake him up!’
• Ecclesiastes 11:9Young people, enjoy your life while you are young. Do the things that you think are good. Enjoy the things that you see. But remember that God will judge you for all the things that you do.
• Genesis 11:1At this time, everyone who lived on the earth spoke one language. They used the same words.
• Genesis 9:19All the people who live on the earth are descendants of Noah's three sons.
• Acts 17:26God first made one man. From that one man he made all the different groups of people. He caused them to live in different places all over the world. He decided where each group of people should live. He also decided how long they should live in each place.
• Genesis 6:5The Lord saw that men and women on the earth had become very bad. They thought only of evil things all the time.
• Genesis 8:21The Lord smelled the sacrifice and it made him happy. The Lord said to himself, ‘I will never curse the ground again because of the bad things that people do. From the time that they are children, they want to do bad things. But I will never again destroy everything that breathes, as I have done this time.
• Psalms 2:1Why are nations making plans to turn against the Lord? All their plans will fail!
• Luke 1:51He has shown how strong he is to do great things. Some people think that they are very important. But he has sent them away in different directions.

Commentaries on Genesis 11:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The people is one, etc. - From this, as before observed, we may infer, that as the people had the same language, so they had a unity of design and sentiment. It is very likely that the original language was composed of monosyllables, that each had a distinct ideal meaning, and only one meaning; as different acceptations of the same word would undoubtedly arise, either from compounding terms, or, when there were but few words in a language, using them by a…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. 6If no one stopped them, the tower builders would become united and ambitious. This would allow human evil to grow in ways that cannot be imagined.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. and now nothing will be restrained from them--an apparent admission that the design was practicable, and would have been executed but for the divine interposition.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 11:6

• Babel
• Babylon
• Confusion
• Dispersion
• Language
• Miracles
• Tongue
• Tower

In the dictionaries

• Babel, tower of
• Begin
• Confound
• Earth
• Mesopotamia
• Noah
• Scatter
• Shinar, The Land of
• Slime
• Tongues, Confusion of

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