5:19a

This part of the verse tells the problem that the men had as they tried to get their friend to Jesus. Connect 5:19a to 5:18b in a natural way in your language.

but they could not find a way through the crowd: This part of the verse explains the reason for the action in 5:19b. Because the men could not get near Jesus by going through the crowd, they brought the paralyzed man to him in a different way. Another way to translate this is:

They could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd. So….

It may be more natural in your language to state the reason why they were unable to get to Jesus first. If so, reorder the two parts of this phrase. For example:

Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. (Good News Translation)
-or-
But because of the crowd, they could not get him to Jesus. (Contemporary English Version)

through the crowd: The phrase through the crowd indicates that the men could not enter because so many people were at the door. The phrase does not imply that the men were afraid that the people would criticize them or forbid them to bring the paralyzed man to Jesus.

In some languages you may need to use a more specific phrase. For example:

because it was full of people
-or-
since the people were so tightly packed there at the house

5:19b

So: Verse 5:19b explains what the men did because they could not get into the house through the door. In some languages it may be natural to express this as a result, as the Berean Standard Bible does by saying So. There is actually no conjunction in Greek. Another way to translate this is:

When they could not find a way to do this…, they went up (New International Version)

they went up on the roof: The original readers of the Gospel of Luke understood that the men climbed stairs to get onto the roof. They also knew that the roof was flat and the men could walk across it. In some languages, it may be necessary to communicate some of this implied information. Some ways to do this are:

• Make some of the details explicit in the text. For example:

they went up on the ⌊flat⌋ roof of the house
-or-
they ⌊climbed the stairs⌋ ⌊carrying their companion⌋ to the top of the house

• Use a footnote to explain how the men got onto the roof.

• Include a drawing of a Galilean home with a ladder or stairs

5:19c

and lowered him on his mat through the tiles: These words imply that the men first made a hole in the roof by removing some of the tiles. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher (God’s Word)
-or-
and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
and then they removed some of the tiles ⌊to make a hole in the roof⌋ and lowered him on his mat down through the hole

Before the men lowered the paralyzed man through the hole, they probably attached ropes to the four corners of the mat. Then men on the roof could hold onto the ropes and slowly let the man down.

through the tiles: The tiles were pieces of baked clay or brick. Builders arranged these tiles in rows on top of a house to make a roof. People could easily remove a group of these tiles and thus make a hole in the roof.

If people in your culture do not use roof tiles, translate this more generally, for example:

through a/the hole in the roof

5:19d

into the middle of the crowd: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as into the middle of the crowd is literally “into the middle/center.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the words of the crowd. The middle could also refer to the middle of the room.

Some other ways to translate this are:

in the middle of the room (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
among the people (God’s Word)
-or-
into the crowd (New Living Translation (2004))

Luke did not say whether the men lowered the paralyzed man all the way to the ground.

right in front of Jesus: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as right in front of Jesus is literally “before Jesus.”

General Comment on 5:19a–d

The main verbs in this verse are “went up” (5:19b) and “lowered” (5:19c). The men did these actions because they could not find a way to enter the house (5:19a). The reason they could not enter the house is explained as “because of the crowd” (5:19a). Consider if your language has a natural order for giving the reason for an action and then the results. Here is one way of giving the reason first:

19aBut because there were so many people there, they could not find a way in. 19bSo they went up on the roof and 19clowered the man (New Century Version)

Here is an example of giving the results first:

19bThey went up on the roof and 19clowered him on his mat into the presence of Jesus. 19a⌊They did this⌋ because the crowd of people ⌊in/around the doorway⌋ made it impossible to enter the house.

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