11 At that time all mankind spoke a single language. ² As the population grew and spread eastward, a plain was discovered in the land of Babylon and was soon thickly populated. ^3-4 The people who lived there began to talk about building a great city, with a temple-tower reaching to the skies—a proud, eternal monument to themselves.

“This will weld us together,” they said, “and keep us from scattering all over the world.” So they made great piles of hard-burned brick, and collected bitumen to use as mortar.