New English Translation
Genesis 11:6
6And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them.
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
4Then they said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth.” 5But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had started building. And the Lord said, “If as one people all sharing a common language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be beyond them. 7Come, let’s go down and confuse their language so they won’t be able to understand each other.” 8So the Lord scattered them from there across the face of the entire earth, and they stopped building the city.
Read all of Genesis 11Genesis 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 3:22And the Lord God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
- Judges 10:14Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!”
- 1 Kings 18:27At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”
- Ecclesiastes 11:9Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes, but know that God will judge your motives and actions.
- Genesis 11:1The whole earth had a common language and a common vocabulary.
- Genesis 9:19These were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was populated.
- Acts 17:26From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,
- Genesis 6:5But the Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind had become great on the earth. Every inclination of the thoughts of their minds was only evil all the time.
- Genesis 8:21And the Lord smelled the soothing aroma and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, even though the inclination of their minds is evil from childhood on. I will never again destroy everything that lives, as I have just done.
- Psalms 2:1Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?
- Luke 1:51He has demonstrated power with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance of their hearts.
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
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries