King James Version

Genesis 11:1

And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.

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Hebrew

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וַֽיְהִ֥יvayhiand beהָיָהconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and be”, the next action in the storyH1961to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)beacon, [idiom] altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, [phrase] follow, happen, [idiom] have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, [idiom] use.כָלkhalallכֹּלnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct — “all”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH3605properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)(in) all (manner, (ye)), altogether, any (manner), enough, every (one, place, thing), howsoever, as many as, (no-) thing, ought, whatsoever, (the) whole, whoso(-ever).הָאָ֖רֶץhaaretsthe earthאֶרֶץdefinite article, noun, common, both genders, singular, absolute — “the earth”, the ordinary formH776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)[idiom] common, country, earth, field, ground, land, [idiom] natins, way, [phrase] wilderness, world.שָׂפָ֣הsafahlanguageשָׂפָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “language”, the ordinary formH8193the lip (as a natural boundary); by implication, language; by analogy, a margin (of a vessel, water, cloth, etc.)band, bank, binding, border, brim, brink, edge, language, lip, prating, (sea-)shore, side, speech, talk, (vain) words.אֶחָ֑תechatfirstאֶחָדadjective, cardinal, feminine, singular, absolute — “first”, the ordinary formH259properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) firsta, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), [phrase] eleven, every, few, first, [phrase] highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,וּדְבָרִ֖יםudevarimand causeדָּבָרconjunction, noun, common, masculine, plural, absolute — “and cause”, the ordinary formH1697a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a causeact, advice, affair, answer, [idiom] any such (thing), because of, book, business, care, case, cause, certain rate, [phrase] chronicles, commandment, [idiom] commune(-ication), [phrase] concern(-ing), [phrase] confer, counsel, [phrase] dea…אֲחָדִֽיםachadimfirstאֶחָדadjective, cardinal, masculine, plural, absolute — “first”, the ordinary formH259properly, united, i.e. one; or (as an ordinal) firsta, alike, alone, altogether, and, any(-thing), apiece, a certain, (dai-) ly, each (one), [phrase] eleven, every, few, first, [phrase] highway, a man, once, one, only, other, some, together,

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

Young’s Literal Translation

And the whole earth is of one pronunciation, and of the same words,

World English Bible

The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

Darby Translation

And the whole earth had one language, and the same words.

Douay-Rheims

And the earth was of one tongue, and of the same speech.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And all the earth was one lip, and there was one language to all.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Καὶ ἦν πᾶσα ἡ γῆ χεῖλος ἓν, καὶ φωνὴ μία πᾶσι.

American Standard Version (1901)

Young’s Literal Translation

World English Bible

Darby Translation

Douay-Rheims

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

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