Genesis 11:3

Verse

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.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

And they said one to another, Come, let us make bricks, burning them well. And they had bricks for stone, putting them together with sticky earth.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.

Free Bible Version

They said to one another, “Come on, let's make some bricks and bake them with fire.” (They used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of cement).

Geneva Bible 1599

And they said one to another, Come, let vs make bricke, and burne it in the fire. So they had bricke for stone, and slime had they in steade of morter.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

One Unity Resource Bible

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.

Plain English Version

Then they said to each other, “Look, we can make bricks here. So come on, let’s do that. We will bake them properly so that they are good strong bricks, and we will use them to build a city here. So come on, let’s build a big tall building in that city. It will be so tall that it will go right up into the sky.” You see, they had bricks and tar instead of stones and cement. And they said, “If we do that, everyone will think we are smart. Then we will not go and live all over the earth, but we will stay together right here.”

Translation for Translators

Then they said to each other, “◄Hey/Come on►, let’s form bricks and bake them to make them hard, for building!” So they used bricks instead of stones, and used tar instead of ◄mortar/a mixture of cement, sand and lime► to hold them together.

Unlocked Literal Bible

They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick instead of stone and tar as mortar.

Noah Webster Bible

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.

World English Bible

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.

Young's Literal Translation

and they say each one to his neighbour, 'Give help, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to them for mortar.

Context

The Tower of Babel

²And as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.³And 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.

Sermons

The Rise and Fall of Babylon

John F. Walvoord

Summary

In Genesis 11:3, we see the people of Babel deciding to make bricks and use them instead of stones and tar for building. This decision reflects their desire for unity and progress in constructing a city and a tower that reaches the heavens. However, their focus on self-glorification and defiance against God's command to fill the earth led to their downfall. This verse serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of pride, rebellion, and misplaced priorities, highlighting the consequences of seeking human achievements over obedience to God.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Let us make brick - It appears they were obliged to make use of brick, as there was an utter scarcity of stones in that district; and on the same account they were obliged to use slime, that is, bitumen, (Vulg). ασφαλτος, (Septuagint) for mortar: so it appears they had neither common stone nor lime-stone; hence they had brick for stone, and asphaltus or bitumen instead of mortar.

John Gill Bible Commentary

And they said one to another, go to,.... Advising, exhorting, stirring up, and encouraging one another to the work proposed, of building a city and tower for their habitation and protection; saying: let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly; they knew the nature of bricks, and how to make them before: according to Sanchoniatho (h), the brothers of Vulcan, or Tubalcain, before the flood, were the first inventors of them; for he relates, that"there are some that say that his brothers invented the way of making walls of bricks: he adds, that from the generation of Vulcan came two brothers, who invented the way of mixing straw or stubble with brick clay, and to dry them by the sun, and so found out tiling of houses.''Now in the plain of Shinar, though it afforded no stones, yet they could dig clay enough to make bricks, and which they proposed to burn thoroughly, that they might be fit for their purpose. According to an eastern tradition (i), they were three years employed in making and burning those bricks, each of which was thirteen cubits long, ten broad, and five thick, and were forty years in building: and they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar: they could not get stone, which they would have chosen, as more durable; they got the best bricks they could make, and instead of mortar they used slime; or what the Septuagint version calls "asphaltos", a bitumen, or kind of pitch, of which there was great plenty in that neighbourhood. Herodotus (k) speaking of the building of Babylon, uses language very much like the Scripture;"digging a foss or ditch (says he), the earth which was cast up they formed into bricks, and drawing large ones, they burnt them in furnaces, using for lime or mortar hot asphaltos or bitumen.''And he observes, that"Eight days journey from Babylon was another city, called Is, where was a small river of the same name, which ran into the river Euphrates, and with its water were carried many lumps of bitumen, and from hence it was conveyed to the walls of Babylon.''This city is now called Ait, of which a traveller (l) of the last century gives the following account;"from the ruins of old Babylon we came to a town called Ait, inhabited only with Arabians, but very ruinous; near unto which town is a valley of pitch, very marvellous to behold, and a thing almost incredible wherein are many springs throwing out abundantly a kind of black substance, like unto tar and pitch, which serveth all the countries thereabout to make staunch their barks and boats; everyone of which springs makes a noise like a smith's forge, which never ceaseth night nor day, and the noise is heard a mile off, swallowing up all weighty things that come upon it; the Moors call it "the mouth of hell."''Curtius relates (m), that Alexander, in his march to Babylon, came to a city called Mennis, where was a cavern, from whence a fountain threw out a vast quantity of bitumen or pitch; so that, says he, it is plain, that the huge walls of Babylon were daubed with the bitumen of this fountain; and he afterwards speaks of the walls, towers, and houses, being built of brick, and cemented with it; and so Diodorus Siculus says (n) from Ctesias, that the walls of Babylon were built of bricks, cemented with bitumen; and not only these, but all Heathen authors that write of Babylon, confirm this; and not only historians, but poets, of which Bochart (o) has made a large collection; as well as Josephus (p) speaks of it, and this sort of pitch still remains. Rauwolff says (q) near the bridge over the Euphrates, where Babylon stood, are several heaps of Babylonian pitch, which is in some places grown so hard, that you may walk over it; but in others, that which hath been lately brought over thither is so soft, that you may see every step you make in it. (h) Apud Euseb. Evangel. Praepar. l. 1. p. 35. (i) Elmacinus, p. 14. apud Hottinger. Smegma, p. 263, 264. (k) Clio sive, l. 1. c. 179. (l) Cartwright's Preacher's Travels, p. 105, 106. (m) Hist. l. 5. c. 1. (n) Bibliothec l. 2. p. 96. (o) Phaleg. l. 1. c. 11. (p) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 4. sect. 3. (q) Travels, par. 2. ch. 7. p. 138.

Genesis 11:3

The Tower of Babel

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

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.

American Standard Version (1901)

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.

Bible in Basic English

And they said one to another, Come, let us make bricks, burning them well. And they had bricks for stone, putting them together with sticky earth.

Douay-Rheims 1899

And each one said to his neighbour: Come, let us make brick, and bake them with fire. And they had brick instead of stones, and slime instead of mortar.

Free Bible Version

They said to one another, “Come on, let's make some bricks and bake them with fire.” (They used brick instead of stone, and tar instead of cement).

Geneva Bible 1599

And they said one to another, Come, let vs make bricke, and burne it in the fire. So they had bricke for stone, and slime had they in steade of morter.

King James (Authorized) Version

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.

One Unity Resource Bible

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.

Plain English Version

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They had brick instead of stone and tar as mortar.

Noah Webster Bible

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.

World English Bible

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.

Young's Literal Translation

and they say each one to his neighbour, 'Give help, let us make bricks, and burn [them] thoroughly:' and the brick is to them for stone, and the bitumen hath been to them for mortar.

Adam Clarke
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Genesis 11:3

Verse

Context

The Tower of Babel

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Genesis 11:3

The Tower of Babel

The Rise and Fall of Babylon

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes