Luke 2:3

2:3 Everyone ¹  went to his own town ²  to be registered.

Luke 2:5

2:5 He went ³  to be registered with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him, ⁴  and who was expecting a child.

Luke 2:1

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

2:1 Now ⁵  in those days a decree ⁶  went out from Caesar ⁷  Augustus ⁸  to register ⁹  all the empire ¹⁰  for taxes.

[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).

[2:5]  ³ tn The words “He went” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied to begin a new sentence in the translation. The Greek sentence is longer and more complex than normal contemporary English usage.

[2:5]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “Mary, his betrothed.” Although often rendered in contemporary English as “Mary, who was engaged to him,” this may give the modern reader a wrong impression, since Jewish marriages in this period were typically arranged marriages. The term ἐμνηστευμένῃ (emnhsteumenh) may suggest that the marriage is not yet consummated, not necessarily that they are not currently married. Some mss read “the betrothed to him wife”; others, simply “his wife.” These readings, though probably not original, may give the right sense.

[2:1]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[2:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).