Genesis 11:3

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Genesis 11:1–5 · Berean Standard Bible

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.

3 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.

Hebrew words

Data created by STEPBible.org based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

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Cross-references

The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge lists these related verses. Scripture text comes from the Berean Standard Bible.

Genesis 11:4

“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.”

Genesis 11:7

Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”

Psalms 64:5

They hold fast to their evil purpose; they speak of hiding their snares. “Who will see them?” they say.

Proverbs 1:11

If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,

Ecclesiastes 2:1

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

Isaiah 5:5

Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

Isaiah 41:6

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

Isaiah 41:7

The craftsman encourages the goldsmith, and he who wields the hammer cheers him who strikes the anvil, saying of the welding, “It is good.” He nails it down so it will not be toppled.

James 4:13

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.”

James 5:1

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

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.

Hebrews 10:24

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

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.

Exodus 5:7

“You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.

Exodus 5:8

But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

Exodus 5:9

Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”

Exodus 5:10

So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.

Exodus 5:11

Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”

Exodus 5:12

So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

Exodus 5:13

The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

Exodus 5:14

Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

Exodus 5:15

So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

Exodus 5:16

No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

Exodus 5:17

“You are slackers!” Pharaoh replied. “Slackers! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’

Exodus 5:18

Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”

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.

Isaiah 9:10

“The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with finished stone; the sycamores have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”

Isaiah 65:3

to a people who continually provoke Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens and burning incense on altars of brick,

Nahum 3:14

Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln!

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.

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.