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Genesis 11:3

Made Simple — Modern English Translation

Translated by Verse Made Simple Editorial
KJV ORIGINAL
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
Close to the original. Clear modern English.
✦ MADE SIMPLE

They said to each other, 'Come on, let's make bricks and bake them until they're hard.' So they used bricks instead of stone, and tar instead of mortar.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

The people worked together using advanced building techniques to construct something impressive with bricks and tar.

📚 Historical Context

This verse is part of the Tower of Babel story, taking place in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) where brick-making technology was highly developed. The use of baked bricks and bitumen (tar) as mortar was a sophisticated building technique of that region, contrasting with the stone construction more common in other areas. This represents humanity's technological advancement and unity of purpose before God scattered them.

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