Luke 2:3-4

2:3 Everyone ¹  went to his own town ²  to be registered. 2:4 So ³  Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth ⁴  in Galilee to Judea, to the city ⁵  of David called Bethlehem, ⁶  because he was of the house ⁷  and family line ⁸  of David.

[2:3]  ¹ tn Grk “And everyone.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[2:3]  ² tn Or “hometown” (so CEV).

[2:4]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.

[2:4]  ⁴ sn On Nazareth see Luke 1:26.

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Or “town.” The translation “city” is used here because of its collocation with “of David,” suggesting its importance, though not its size.

[2:4]  ⁶ sn The journey from Nazareth to the city of David called Bethlehem was a journey of about 90 mi (150 km). Bethlehem was a small village located about 7 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem.

[2:4]  ⁷ sn Luke’s use of the term “house” probably alludes to the original promise made to David outlined in the Nathan oracle of 2 Sam 7:12-16, especially in light of earlier connections between Jesus and David made in Luke 1:32. Further, the mention of Bethlehem reminds one of the promise of Mic 5:2, namely, that a great king would emerge from Bethlehem to rule over God’s people.

[2:4]  ⁸ tn Or “family,” “lineage.”