“Come, let’s go down.” Genesis 11:1-9 is the record of the tower of Babel. The people building the tower of Babel were full of pride and evil desires. In response to their acting against His purposes, God 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” (Gen. 11:6 ESV). God is speaking to His intimate divine council who supported Him. God would not have been speaking to all the spirit beings, which would have included the Devil and his demons, because those evil spirits supported the people’s rebellion against God.

In this verse, as in Genesis 1:26, the verb “go down,” which is associated with “us,” is plural, so this cannot be a plural of majesty. Since God often works with angels to accomplish His purposes, as He did at Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:13), we can see that the “us” is His divine council.

[For more information on God’s divine council and the plural of majesty, see commentary on Genesis 1:26.]