Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageThat is why it was called Babel — for it was there that Yahweh scrambled the language of the whole earth, and from there He scattered them across the face of the whole earth.
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GTherefore its name was called Bavel — for there YHWH confused the lip of all the earth, and from there YHWH scattered them over the face of all the earth.
KJV
King James VersionTherefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleThat is why it is called Babel, for there the LORD confused the language of the whole world, and from that place the LORD scattered them over the face of all the earth.
Footnotes
In Akkadian, Bāb-ilī means "Gate of God/El" — Babylonians understood their great city as the cosmic portal between heaven and earth. The Hebrew text executes a devastating counter-etymology: balal (בָּלַל) = "to confuse/mix," making Babel the city of confusion rather than divine gateway. F.O.G retains Bavel (the Hebrew form); F.O.G Message uses Babel (the familiar English form). The narrator's final repeated phrase — "face of all the earth" — echoes precisely what the builders feared in v.4 ("lest we be scattered"): what they sought to prevent, their rebellion ensured.
