The Tower of Babel

After the flood, people spoke one language. They decided to build a city with a tower that reached the sky, to make a name for themselves. God saw their pride and confused their language, so that they could no longer understand each other, and they spread over the earth.

Read it in the Bible

This story is in Genesis chapter 11 of the Bible.

A verse to remember

They said, “Come, let’s build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.”
Genesis 11:4, World English Bible

Questions to talk about

1. Why did the people want to build the tower?
2. What happened to their language?
3. Why is it hard to work together when we do not listen to each other?

An activity

Try to build something with blocks with a partner without using words. Then try again with words.

Read next

• Abraham Trusts God
• How to tell Bible stories to children

Questions people ask

The stories are simple retellings for children and are not a substitute for reading the Bible. Churches teach the stories in different ways; adapt to your own tradition.