Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”
5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused [a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth (ESV).
Tower Discussion (slideshow)
Do you have a favorite building or tower that you have seen or would like to see?
Can you guess where each of these towers is located?
Which tower would you like to visit? Why?
Do you know where the tallest tower in the world is located?
5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused [a] the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth (ESV).
Tower Discussion (slideshow)
Do you have a favorite building or tower that you have seen or would like to see?
Can you guess where each of these towers is located?
Which tower would you like to visit? Why?
Do you know where the tallest tower in the world is located?
Introductory Discussion Questions
Why do people build high towers?
What would the world be like if it only had one language?
If you could live in any city in the world, what city would you choose? Why?
What was the largest building you have ever seen? What was it like?
Why do you think humans have different languages?
Word Associations: 'Language'
In pairs, talk about what the word 'language' makes you think of.
What other words does the word 'language' bring to mind? Discuss and categorize the words you come up with.
Synonym Matching
whole moved
earth quit
migrated all
thoroughly completely
mortar suggest
built spoken words
propose made
speech world
left off cement
Antonym Matching
now everything
same ending
east make clear
found later
down different
beginning up
nothing lost
confuse west
Listening Blank Fill
Now the whole earth had one language and _________ same words. 2 And as people migrated from the ___________, they found a plain in the land of Shinar __________ settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “____________, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And __________ had brick for stone,and bitumen for mortar. 4 _____________ they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a ____________ and a tower with its top in the _____________, and let us make a name for ourselves, ___________ we be dispersed over the face of the ________________ earth.”
Word Bank Fill in the Blank
5 And the Lord 1. ( ) down to see the city and the tower, which the children of 2. ( ) had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one 3. ( ), and they have all one language, and this is 4. ( ) the beginning of what they will do. And 5. ( ) that they propose to do will now be impossible for 6. ( ). 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse 7. ( ) language, so that they may not understand one another's 8. ( ).” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over 9. ( ) face of all the earth, and they left off 10. ( ) the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, 11. ( ) there the Lord confused [a] the language of all the 12. ( ) And from there the Lord dispersed them over the 13. ( ) of all the earth (ESV).
a. speech
b. only
c. earth
d. man
e. face
f. building
g. came
h. their
i. because
j. them
k. people
l. the
m. nothing
Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
How did this story make you feel?
Do you like large cities? Why or why not?
Why did God not like their tower?
Can you think of a story in which language difficulties caused confusion? Share it.
What is good about having many languages in the world?
B
Why do you think the story made a distinction between one language and same words? Aren't they the same? Why or why not?
Why did these people want to build a tower?
Can you think of a story in which language difficulties caused confusion? Tell it.
What is bad about having many languages in the world?
Research and Writing
Research a famous building of your choice. Write a description of the building, and explain why it is famous.
Chinese Version
那 时 ， 天 下 人 的 口 音 、 言 语 都 是 一 样 。
2 他 们 往 东 边 迁 移 的 时 候 ， 在 示 拿 地 遇 见 一 片 平 原 ， 就 住 在 那 里 。
3 他 们 彼 此 商 量 说 ： 来 罢 ！ 我 们 要 作 砖 ， 把 砖 烧 透 了 。 他 们 就 拿 砖 当 石 头 ， 又 拿 石 漆 当 灰 泥 。
4 他 们 说 ： 来 罢 ！ 我 们 要 建 造 一 座 城 和 一 座 塔 ， 塔 顶 通 天 ， 为 要 传 扬 我 们 的 名 ， 免 得 我 们 分 散 在 全 地 上 。
5 耶 和 华 降 临 ， 要 看 看 世 人 所 建 造 的 城 和 塔 。
6 耶 和 华 说 ： 看 哪 ， 他 们 成 为 一 样 的 人 民 ， 都 是 一 样 的 言 语 ， 如 今 既 作 起 这 事 来 ， 以 後 他 们 所 要 作 的 事 就 没 有 不 成 就 的 了 。
7 我 们 下 去 ， 在 那 里 变 乱 他 们 的 口 音 ， 使 他 们 的 言 语 彼 此 不 通 。
8 於 是 耶 和 华 使 他 们 从 那 里 分 散 在 全 地 上 ； 他 们 就 停 工 ， 不 造 那 城 了 。
9 因 为 耶 和 华 在 那 里 变 乱 天 下 人 的 言 语 ， 使 众 人 分 散 在 全 地 上 ， 所 以 那 城 名 叫 巴 别 ( 就 是 变 乱 的 意 思 ) (CUV)。
Exercise Answers:
Tower Slide Show:
Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy), The National Monument (USA), Sydney Tower (Australia), Eifel Tower (France), Tokyo Tower (Japan), Burj Khalifa (Dubai), Canton Tower (China).
Synonym Matching: whole-->all, earth-->world, migrated-->moved, thoroughly-->completely, mortar-->cement, built-->made, propose-->suggest, speech-->spoken words, left off-->quit.
Antonym Matching: now-->later, same-->different, east-->west, found-->lost, down-->up, beginning-->ending, nothing-->everything, confuse-->make clear.
Listening Blank Fill: the, east, and, come, they, Then, city, heavens, lest, whole.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: 1. g. came 2. d. man 3. k. people 4. b. only 5. m. nothing 6. j. them 7. h. their 8. a. speech 9. l. the 10. f. building 11. i. because 12. c. earth 13. e. face
Why do people build high towers?
What would the world be like if it only had one language?
If you could live in any city in the world, what city would you choose? Why?
What was the largest building you have ever seen? What was it like?
Why do you think humans have different languages?
Word Associations: 'Language'
In pairs, talk about what the word 'language' makes you think of.
What other words does the word 'language' bring to mind? Discuss and categorize the words you come up with.
Synonym Matching
whole moved
earth quit
migrated all
thoroughly completely
mortar suggest
built spoken words
propose made
speech world
left off cement
Antonym Matching
now everything
same ending
east make clear
found later
down different
beginning up
nothing lost
confuse west
Listening Blank Fill
Now the whole earth had one language and _________ same words. 2 And as people migrated from the ___________, they found a plain in the land of Shinar __________ settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “____________, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And __________ had brick for stone,and bitumen for mortar. 4 _____________ they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a ____________ and a tower with its top in the _____________, and let us make a name for ourselves, ___________ we be dispersed over the face of the ________________ earth.”
Word Bank Fill in the Blank
5 And the Lord 1. ( ) down to see the city and the tower, which the children of 2. ( ) had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one 3. ( ), and they have all one language, and this is 4. ( ) the beginning of what they will do. And 5. ( ) that they propose to do will now be impossible for 6. ( ). 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse 7. ( ) language, so that they may not understand one another's 8. ( ).” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over 9. ( ) face of all the earth, and they left off 10. ( ) the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, 11. ( ) there the Lord confused [a] the language of all the 12. ( ) And from there the Lord dispersed them over the 13. ( ) of all the earth (ESV).
a. speech
b. only
c. earth
d. man
e. face
f. building
g. came
h. their
i. because
j. them
k. people
l. the
m. nothing
Pair Work Discussion Questions
A
How did this story make you feel?
Do you like large cities? Why or why not?
Why did God not like their tower?
Can you think of a story in which language difficulties caused confusion? Share it.
What is good about having many languages in the world?
B
Why do you think the story made a distinction between one language and same words? Aren't they the same? Why or why not?
Why did these people want to build a tower?
Can you think of a story in which language difficulties caused confusion? Tell it.
What is bad about having many languages in the world?
Research and Writing
Research a famous building of your choice. Write a description of the building, and explain why it is famous.
Chinese Version
那 时 ， 天 下 人 的 口 音 、 言 语 都 是 一 样 。
2 他 们 往 东 边 迁 移 的 时 候 ， 在 示 拿 地 遇 见 一 片 平 原 ， 就 住 在 那 里 。
3 他 们 彼 此 商 量 说 ： 来 罢 ！ 我 们 要 作 砖 ， 把 砖 烧 透 了 。 他 们 就 拿 砖 当 石 头 ， 又 拿 石 漆 当 灰 泥 。
4 他 们 说 ： 来 罢 ！ 我 们 要 建 造 一 座 城 和 一 座 塔 ， 塔 顶 通 天 ， 为 要 传 扬 我 们 的 名 ， 免 得 我 们 分 散 在 全 地 上 。
5 耶 和 华 降 临 ， 要 看 看 世 人 所 建 造 的 城 和 塔 。
6 耶 和 华 说 ： 看 哪 ， 他 们 成 为 一 样 的 人 民 ， 都 是 一 样 的 言 语 ， 如 今 既 作 起 这 事 来 ， 以 後 他 们 所 要 作 的 事 就 没 有 不 成 就 的 了 。
7 我 们 下 去 ， 在 那 里 变 乱 他 们 的 口 音 ， 使 他 们 的 言 语 彼 此 不 通 。
8 於 是 耶 和 华 使 他 们 从 那 里 分 散 在 全 地 上 ； 他 们 就 停 工 ， 不 造 那 城 了 。
9 因 为 耶 和 华 在 那 里 变 乱 天 下 人 的 言 语 ， 使 众 人 分 散 在 全 地 上 ， 所 以 那 城 名 叫 巴 别 ( 就 是 变 乱 的 意 思 ) (CUV)。
Exercise Answers:
Tower Slide Show:
Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy), The National Monument (USA), Sydney Tower (Australia), Eifel Tower (France), Tokyo Tower (Japan), Burj Khalifa (Dubai), Canton Tower (China).
Synonym Matching: whole-->all, earth-->world, migrated-->moved, thoroughly-->completely, mortar-->cement, built-->made, propose-->suggest, speech-->spoken words, left off-->quit.
Antonym Matching: now-->later, same-->different, east-->west, found-->lost, down-->up, beginning-->ending, nothing-->everything, confuse-->make clear.
Listening Blank Fill: the, east, and, come, they, Then, city, heavens, lest, whole.
Word Bank Fill in the Blank: 1. g. came 2. d. man 3. k. people 4. b. only 5. m. nothing 6. j. them 7. h. their 8. a. speech 9. l. the 10. f. building 11. i. because 12. c. earth 13. e. face
RSS Feed