Luke 2:1

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

2:1 Now ¹  in those days a decree ²  went out from Caesar ³  Augustus ⁴  to register ⁵  all the empire ⁶  for taxes.

Luke 20:24

20:24 “Show me a denarius. ⁷  Whose image ⁸  and inscription are on it?” ⁹  They said, “Caesar’s.”

[2:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[2:1]  ² sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.

[2:1]  ³ tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[2:1]  ⁴ sn Caesar Augustus refers to Octavian, who was Caesar from 27 b.c. to a.d. 14. He was known for his administrative prowess.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “that all the empire should be registered for taxes.” The passive infinitive ἀπογράφεσθαι (apografesqai) has been rendered as an active in the translation to improve the English style. The verb is regarded as a technical term for official registration in tax lists (BDAG 108 s.v. ἀπογράφω a).

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).

[20:24]  ⁷ tn Here the specific name of the coin was retained in the translation, because not all coins in circulation in Palestine at the time carried the image of Caesar. In other places δηνάριον (dhnarion) has been translated simply as “silver coin” with an explanatory note.

[20:24]  ⁸ tn Or “whose likeness.”

[20:24]  ⁹ tn Grk “whose likeness and inscription does it have?”