Commentary— Tyndale Open Study Notes (plain English)
11:7 Come, let’s go down: God addresses his angelic court (see 1:26; 3:22; and study notes). • won’t be able to understand each other: Their inability to communicate would curtail their unified sinful ambition. The God-honoring unity of language on the day of Pentecost was a symbolic reversal of the Babel dispersion (Acts 2:5-13; see Zeph 3:9).
Commentary— Tyndale Open Study Notes (plain English)
11:7 Come, let’s go down: God addresses his angelic court (see 1:26; 3:22; and study notes). • won’t be able to understand each other: Their inability to communicate would curtail their unified sinful ambition. The God-honoring unity of language on the day of Pentecost was a symbolic reversal of the Babel dispersion (Acts 2:5-13; see Zeph 3:9).
Literal English (Darby)ⓘThe Darby Bible (1890) — a deliberately literal, word-for-word translation used here as the Old Testament comparison text.The Darby Bible (1890) — a deliberately literal, word-for-word translation used here as the Old Testament comparison text.
Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
Hebrew (Masoretic Text)ⓘThe Masoretic Text — the authoritative Hebrew manuscript tradition behind most Old Testaments, standardized by Jewish scribes (the Masoretes) between roughly the 7th and 10th centuries AD.The Masoretic Text — the authoritative Hebrew manuscript tradition behind most Old Testaments, standardized by Jewish scribes (the Masoretes) between roughly the 7th and 10th centuries AD.
King James VersionⓘKing James Version (1611) — the classic formal, word-for-word English translation. Historic and widely memorized, but uses Early Modern English vocabulary.
King James Version (1611) — the classic formal, word-for-word English translation. Historic and widely memorized, but uses Early Modern English vocabulary.
Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
American Standard VersionⓘAmerican Standard Version (1901) — a more literal, precision-focused revision in the King James tradition.American Standard Version (1901) — a more literal, precision-focused revision in the King James tradition.
Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
World English BibleⓘWorld English Bible — a modern, public-domain update to the KJV/ASV formal style, without archaic language.World English Bible — a modern, public-domain update to the KJV/ASV formal style, without archaic language.
Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
Bible in Basic EnglishⓘBible in Basic English (1949) — deliberately written using a limited vocabulary of about 1,000 words.Bible in Basic English (1949) — deliberately written using a limited vocabulary of about 1,000 words.
Come, let us go down and take away the sense of their language, so that they will not be able to make themselves clear to one another.