Deuteronomy 22:8

Deuteronomy 22:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
• New International Version (NIV)When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it.

Context of Deuteronomy 22:8

6If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young. 7You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days. If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it. 9Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard. 10Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Deuteronomy 22:8 word by word

כִּ֤י תִבְנֶה֙ בַּ֣יִת חָדָ֔שׁ וְעָשִׂ֥יתָ מַעֲקֶ֖ה לְגַגֶּ֑ךָ וְלֹֽא־תָשִׂ֤ים דָּמִים֙ בְּבֵיתֶ֔ךָ כִּֽי־יִפֹּ֥ל הַנֹּפֵ֖ל מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃ סRead the interlinear

• Ifכִּיkîy · forH3588
• you buildבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
• a newחָדָשׁchâdâsh · newH2319
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: homeH1004
• you are to constructעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to makeH6213
• a railingמַעֲקֶהma‛ăqeh · parapetH4624
• around your roofגָּגgâg · roofH1406
• so that you do notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• bringשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• bloodguiltדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• someone fallsנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• from itמִן־min minnîy minnêy · fromH4480

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 22:8

• Exodus 21:28If an ox gores a man or woman to death, the ox must surely be stoned, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the ox shall not be held responsible.
• Exodus 22:6If a fire breaks out and spreads to thornbushes so that it consumes stacked or standing grain, or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution.
• Romans 14:13Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
• 1 Corinthians 10:32Do not become a stumbling block, whether to Jews or Greeks or the church of God—
• Philippians 1:10so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22Abstain from every form of evil.
• 2 Samuel 11:2One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
• Isaiah 22:1This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,
• Jeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
• Matthew 10:27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.
• Mark 2:4Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
• Acts 10:9The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
• Ezekiel 3:18If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
• Ezekiel 32:2“Son of man, take up a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him: ‘You are like a lion among the nations; you are like a monster in the seas. You thrash about in your rivers, churning up the waters with your feet and muddying the streams.’
• Matthew 18:6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
• Acts 20:26Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 22:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8A battlement for thy roof - Houses in the East are in general built with flat roofs, and on them men walk to enjoy the fresh air, converse together, sleep, etc.; it was therefore necessary to have a sort of battlement or balustrade to prevent persons from falling off. If a man neglected to make a sufficient defense against such accidents, and the death of another was occasioned by it, the owner of the house must be considered in the light of a murderer.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 These precepts are designed to cultivate a spirit of humanity. Compare Deuteronomy 25:4; Leviticus 22:28; and 1 Corinthians 9:9-10. Deuteronomy 22:8 The roofs of houses in Palestine were flat and used for various purposes. Compare Joshua 2:6; 2 Samuel 11:2; Acts 10:9, etc. A battlement was almost a necessary protection. It was to be, according to the rabbis, at least two cubits high (about 3 ft.).Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-12Verses 5-12 God's providence extends itself to the smallest affairs, and his precepts do so, that even in them we may be in the fear of the Lord, as we are under his eye and care. Yet the tendency of these laws, which seem little, is such, that being found among the things of God's law, they are to be accounted great things. If we would prove ourselves to be God's people, we must have respect to his will and to his glory, and not to the vain fashions of…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence--The tops of houses in ancient Judea, as in the East still, were flat, being composed of branches or twigs laid across large beams, and covered with a cement of clay or strong plaster. They were surrounded by a parapet breast high. In summer the roof is a favorite resort for coolness, and accidents would frequently happen from persons…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 22:8

• Battlements
• Homicide
• House

In the dictionaries

• Astray
• Battlement
• Chance
• House
• Husband
• Rise
• Architecture
• Assassination
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings