Not finding a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the middle before Jesus.
Parallel Translations
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Not finding a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went up to the housetop, and let him down through the tiles with his cot into the middle before Jesus.
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And when they coulde not finde by what waye they might bringe him in be cause of the prease they wet vp on the toppe of the housse and let him doune thorowe the tylinge beed and all in the middes before Iesus.
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And when they could not finde by what way they might bring him in, because of the preasse, they went vp on the house, and let him downe through the tyling, bed and all, in the middes before Iesus.
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Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Luke 5:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 2:4 When they could not come near to him for the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down the mat that the paralytic was lying on.
- Matthew 10:27 What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.
- Deuteronomy 22:8 When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.
- 2 Samuel 11:2 At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
- Matthew 24:17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 19 And when they could not find by what…
19 And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
Ver. 19. They went upon the housetop] Which (according to the custom of building in those Eastern countries) was flat laid, and surrounded with battlements, Deu 22:8.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when they could not find by what way,....…
And when they could not find by what way,.... As by the door, or in at a window of the house:
they might bring him in; to Jesus, in the house:
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because of the multitude; which was about the door, and all the fore part of the house:
they went upon the housetop; by a ladder, or pair of stairs, which usually were on the outside of houses; See Gill on Mat 24:17 the houses of the Jews being flat roofed:
and let him down through the tiling with his couch, into the midst before Jesus; that is, they untiled the roof, or took away the tiles which were about the trap door, or passage, into the inside of the house; and so making it wider, let down the man upon his couch, or bed, into the middle of the room and of the people, just before Jesus, where he was sitting; See Gill on Mar 2:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Not being able to bring him in through the…
Not being able to bring him in through the multitude, they went round about by a back passage, and going up the stairs on the outside, they came upon the flat-roofed house, and let him down through the trap door, such as was on the top of most of the Jewish houses: doubtless, with such circumspection as the circumstances plainly required.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. Went upon the housetop] See Clarke on…
Verse 19. Went upon the housetop] See Clarke on Mt 24:17.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Let us learn from this example, how diligent we…
Let us learn from this example, how diligent we should be in procuring spiritual health, both for ourselves and for our friends. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain housetop--the flat roof.
housetop--the flat roof.
through the tiling . . . before Jesus--(See on Mar 2:2).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. they went upon the housetop] A very easy…
19. they went upon the housetop] A very easy thing to do because there was in most houses an outside staircase to the roof, Mat_24:17. Eastern houses are often only one storey high, and when they are built on rising ground, the roof is often nearly on a level with the street above. Our Lord may have been teaching in the “upper room” of the house, which was usually the largest and quietest. 2Ki_4:10; Act_1:13; Act_9:37.
let him down through the tiling] St Mark says they uncovered the roof where he was, and digging it up, let down ‘the pallet.’ Clearly then two operations seem to have been necessary: (i) to remove the tiles, and (ii) to dig through some mud partition. But the description is too vague to enable us to understand the details. Sceptical writers have raised difficulties about it in order to discredit the whole narrative (comp. Cic. Php_2:18, “per tegulas demitterere”), but the making of an aperture in the roof is an everyday matter in the East (Thomson, The Land and the Book, p. 358), and is here alluded to, not because it was strange, but to illustrate the active, and as it were nobly impatient, faith of the man and the bearers.
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with his couch] klinidion, ‘little bed,’ probably a mere mat or mattress. It means the same as St Mark’s krabbaton, but that being a semi-Latin word (grabatum) would be more comprehensible to the Roman readers of St Mark than to the Greek readers of St Luke.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (19) With his couch.—The Greek word is the diminutive…
(19) With his couch.—The Greek word is the diminutive of the word translated “bed” in Luk_5:18, and is used, apparently, as St. Mark uses the Latin grabatum, to show how it was that the process described was possible.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:19 took off some tiles: Palestinian roofs were normally…
5:19 took off some tiles: Palestinian roofs were normally made of wooden beams covered with reeds and mud or clay. Either this roof had tiles, or else Luke was interpreting the episode for his Greek readers (cp. Mark 2:4, which speaks of digging through the roof).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.