This is the account of the tower of Babel, when God confused the language of men in order to scatter them over the earth. We see that the men were probably building a temple for pagan worship, having set their hearts against God. The confusion of the languages was God’s judgment upon them.
We also consider how in God’s providence the Gospel reverses what happened at Babel, and how this is pictured for us on the day of Pentecost in the speaking of many languages that were simultaneously understood by people from many nations.