From Noah’s three sons, God made a new beginning in human history. He set apart Shem to be His special channel of blessing, and it was through Shem that Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, was born (11:10ff.).
神从挪亚的三个儿子创造了人类历史上的一个新开端。祂将闪分别开来做为祝福的通道，通过闪有了亚伯拉罕，就是犹太民族的祖先（11:10起）。
Sin always separates: man from God (chap. 3); brother from brother (chap. 4); family from family (chap. 9); and now nation from nation.
Note the name of Nimrod (10:8–10). The phrase “mighty hunter” implies that he was a rebel against God and a tyrant against his fellowman. He founded two cities important in Bible history: Babylon and Nineveh.
罪必定导致分隔；人与神之间（第3章）、兄弟之间（第4章）、家庭之间（9章），而现在是国与国之间。注意宁录（10:8-10）这名字——“猎户”的原文意味着他是一个抵挡神、对待同胞极为残暴的人。在圣经历史里，他创立了两个重要的城市：巴比伦和尼尼微。
Man seeks unity and notoriety, and he tries to accomplish these things by his own wisdom and strength. Lucifer wanted to be like God (Isa. 14:14), and man wanted to make a name for himself. But only God can make a person’s name truly great (Gen. 12:2; Josh. 3:7).
人寻求团结与名誉，并试图通过自己的智慧和力量来完成这些事情。路西法想与神一样（赛14:14），而人想要成名。然而，只有神能使一个人的名真正为大（创12:2；书 3:7）。
Babel means “confusion,” and “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Cor. 14:33; see also James 3:16). Babylon will appear often in the biblical record as the enemy of God’s people. Wherever there is confusion, the spirit of Babylon—the world and the flesh—is at work. Ultimately, the whole “Babylonian system” will be destroyed (Rev. 17–18).
巴别是“混乱”之意，但“神不是叫人混乱”的（林前14:33；也见各3:16）。在圣经的记载里，巴比伦经常与神的子民为敌。哪里有混乱，那里就有巴比伦属世和肉体的活动。最终，整个“巴比伦系统”将被毁灭（启17-18）。
The confusion of tongues that began at Babel was reversed at Pentecost (Acts 2:7–8). A descendant of Ham, an Ethiopian, was saved in Acts 8; a descendant of Shem, Paul, was saved in Acts 9; and the gentile descendants of Japheth were saved in Acts 10. Unity is not worked up by man; it is sent down by God (Ps. 133; Eph. 4:1–6).
混乱的舌头起源于巴比，但也在五旬节时被更正了（徒2:7-8）。迦南的后裔埃塞俄比亚，在《使徒行传》8章得救；闪的后裔保罗，在《使徒行传》9章得救；而雅弗的一个外邦后裔在《使徒行传》10章得救。人的合一并不由人类建立，乃是神所赐的（诗133；弗4:1-6）。
As we share the gospel with others, we are helping to unite what sin has torn apart (Eph. 1:10–11). Christians are indeed the peacemakers of the world.
当我们与他人传享福音时，我们是在使罪所分离开来的重新联合（弗1:10-11）。基督徒才是世界的和平使者。
Praying the Scripture 用经文祷告
- It is amazing how quickly men deteriorated into a situation that deserved God’s intervention and punishment. It only took a few generations for them to fall into the same sin of Satan, Adam and Eve. They wanted to make a name for themselves rather than God (Gen 11:4). Are we not trying to prove we are better than others? Are we not trying to prove that we are clever and talented? Let’s pray that we humble ourselves and obey Him who created us and saved from our sins.
人类是以惊人的速度急速恶化，直至神必须干涉和处罚的地步。人只经过几个世代就落入与撒旦、亚当和夏娃相同的罪。他们想要荣耀自己的名，不是神的名（创11:4）。我们不也想证明自己比别人强？我们不也在尝试证明自己比神聪明、能干？让我们求神使我们谦卑，并且顺服那位创造我们，又在罪中拯救我们的神。
- Biblical unity is not that we agree with one another. The incident of Babel proved that there was total unity. Yes, they unified to glorify themselves rather than God. Biblical unity is not that we agree with one another but we all agree with God and His word. God and his Word is our means of unity. If we all agreed with God and his Word, we are unified. That is biblical unity. Let’s pray that we study His Word and achieve unity through His Word.
圣经所论的合一不是要我们彼此达成一致的意见。巴别塔事件证明他们有一致的行动，但他们同心协力的目的是荣耀自己，不是神。圣经中的合一并非要我们意见一致，而是要我们都接受神和祂的话。神和祂的话语是我们合而为一的途径。如我们都接受神和祂的话语，我们就合一了。这就是圣经所指的合一。让我们祈求神使我们研读祂的话语，通过祂的话语实现合一。
