Genesis 11:3

1 Now the whole world had one language and a common form of speech.

2 And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

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.”

5 Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the sons of men were building.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” So they used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.
KJV
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
WEB
They said to one another, “Come, let’s make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
ASV
And 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.
DARBY
And they said one to another, Come on, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar.
BLB
And they said, each man to his brother, “Come, let us make bricks and burn [them] for burning.” And the brick was to them for stone, and the tar was to them for the mortar.
ÅB
Og de sa til hverandre: Kom, la oss gjøre teglstein og brenne dem vel! Og de brukte tegl istedenfor stein, og jordbek istedenfor kalk.
OTB
De sa til hverandre: “Kom, la oss lage murstein og brenne dem grundig.” De brukte murstein i stedet for stein, og bek til mørtel.
B1930
Og de sa til hverandre: Kom, la oss gjøre teglsten og brenne dem vel! Og de brukte tegl istedenfor sten, og jordbek istedenfor kalk.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Genesis 14:10

    Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some men fell into the pits, but the survivors fled to the hill country.

    Read in context
  • Exodus 1:14

    and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.

    Read in context
  • Exodus 2:3

    But when she could no longer hide him, she got him a papyrus basket and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in the basket and set it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.

    Read in context
  • James 5:1

    Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you.

    Read in context
  • Hebrews 10:24

    And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

    Read in context
  • 2 Samuel 12:31

    David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.

    Read in context
  • Isaiah 41:6–7

    Each one helps the other and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

    Read in context
  • Hebrews 3:13

    But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

    Read in context