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OET interlinear LUKE 2:1

◄ ↨ LUKE 2:1 ↓ → ► ║ ©

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

    1. Greek word
    2. Greek lemma
    3. OET-LV words
    4. OET-RV words
    5. Strongs
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. ἐγένετο
    2. ginomai
    3. it became
    4. -
    5. 10960
    6. VIAM3··S
    7. ˱it˲ became
    8. ˱it˲ became
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38625
    1. Δέ
    2. de
    3. And
    4. -
    5. 11610
    6. C·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. PS
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38626
    1. ἐν
    2. en
    3. in
    4. -
    5. 17220
    6. P·······
    7. in
    8. in
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38627
    1. ταῖς
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····DFP
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38628
    1. ἡμέραις
    2. hēmera
    3. days
    4. time
    5. 22500
    6. N····DFP
    7. days
    8. days
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38629
    1. ἐκείναις
    2. ekeinos
    3. those
    4. -
    5. 15650
    6. E····DFP
    7. those
    8. those
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38630
    1. ἐξῆλθεν
    2. exerχomai
    3. came out
    4. -
    5. 18310
    6. VIAA3··S
    7. came_out
    8. came_out
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38631
    1. δόγμα
    2. dogma
    3. +a decree
    4. decree
    5. 13780
    6. N····NNS
    7. ˓a˒ decree
    8. ˓a˒ decree
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38632
    1. παρά
    2. para
    3. from
    4. -
    5. 38440
    6. P·······
    7. from
    8. from
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38633
    1. Καίσαρος
    2. kaisar
    3. Kaisar
    4. Caesar
    5. 25410
    6. N····GMS
    7. Kaisar
    8. Caesar
    9. U
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38634
    1. Αὐγούστου
    2. augoustos
    3. Augustus/(Sebastos)
    4. Augustus
    5. 8280
    6. N····GMS
    7. Augustus/(Sebastos)
    8. Augustus
    9. U
    10. Person=Augustus; TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38635
    1. τοῦ
    2. ho
    3. -
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. R····GMS
    7. ¬which
    8. ¬which
    9. -
    10. -
    11. 38636
    1. ἀπογράφεσθαι
    2. apografō
    3. to be registering
    4. register
    5. 5830
    6. VNPM····
    7. ˓to_be˒ registering
    8. ˓to_be˒ registering
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38637
    1. πασᾶν
    2. pas
    3. all
    4. -
    5. 39560
    6. E····AFS
    7. all
    8. all
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38638
    1. τήν
    2. ho
    3. the
    4. -
    5. 35880
    6. E····AFS
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38639
    1. οἰκουμένην
    2. oikoumenē
    3. inhabited world
    4. -
    5. 36250
    6. N····AFS
    7. inhabited_world
    8. inhabited_world
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38640

OET (OET-LV) And it_became in the those days, a_decree came_out from Kaisar Augustus/(Sebastos), all the inhabited_world to_be_registering.

OET (OET-RV) At that time, Caesar Augustus sent a decree that everyone throughout the empire needed to register in a census.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–7: Jesus was born

In this section the things that the angel told Mary about in 1:31–37 happened. In those verses the angel told Mary that she would give birth to a son through the power of the Holy Spirit. This would happen even though she was a virgin. In this section, that prophecy was fulfilled. Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. This section begins about six months after John the Baptizer was born (1:26).

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

The Birth of Jesus (GNT)

Mary gave birth to the Savior

Paragraph 2:1–3

This paragraph is the introduction to this section. It tells when the events happened. It also tells about an event that was background information for the main events of the section.

2:1a

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus

2:1a–b

Now: Here Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Now introduces background information. Many English versions do not have a conjunction here. Introduce this information in a way that is natural in your language.

in those days: The phrase in those days refers back to 1:57–79. It refers to around the time that John the Baptizer was born. He was born about six months before Jesus was born. The phrase in those days does not refer to 1:80, which talks about John becoming a man. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

At that time

At about the time when John was born

a decree went out from Caesar Augustus: The Greek clause that the BSB translates literally as a decree went out from Caesar Augustus refers to a command/order that this emperor issued. It is a figure of speech that describes the decree as if it went out by itself. Some ways other to translate this clause are:

a command came from Caesar Augustus

Caesar Augustus ordered/commanded

Augustus Caesar sent an order (NCV)

Caesar probably gave this command directly to his officials. Then they told this order to the people so that people would come for the officials to write their names. Describe this situation in a natural way in your language. If you need to say whom he ordered, you can say:

Caesar ordered his people

Caesar ordered the people that he ruled

See the General Comment on 2:1a–b at the end of the notes on 2:1b for another translation suggestion.

Caesar: The word Caesar was a title for the great king of the city of Rome and of the Roman empire. He ruled many countries and kings that the people of Rome had conquered. The title Caesar means “Emperor.” Other ways to translate this are:

high king

paramount chief

Augustus: The title Augustus means “exalted.”English versions transliterate Augustus rather than translate the meaning. When translating Caesar Augustus, there are four possibilities: (1) transliterate both Caesar and Augustus, (2) translate the meaning of Caesar and transliterate Augustus (e.g., the GNT has “Emperor Augustus”), (3) transliterate Caesar and translate the meaning of Augustus (e.g., “the high Caesar” or “the Caesar called ‘Great’”), (4) translate the meaning of both Caesar and Augustus. It is a title that the Senate of Rome gave to the emperor who was ruling when Jesus was born. Many English versions transliterate the word Augustus. You may also decide to translate the meaning of both Caesar and Augustus. For example:

the exalted high king

the emperor called great

2:1b

that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

that a census should be taken: The Greek word that the BSB translates as that a census should be taken is literally “to be registered/enrolled.”The Greek word is a present infinitive. In Greek, the middle and passive forms of the present infinitive are identical. So this word could either mean “to enroll themselves” or “to be enrolled.” Here, the passive sense, “to be enrolled,” is probably more likely. This word indicates that government officials would have to write the names of people in a book. Then the officials would count the names so that the emperor would know how many people were living in the empire. The Romans would also know where these people lived and which of them had to pay taxes.

Some other ways to translate a census should be taken are:

people must register/enroll

officials must register/record people’s names

government officials must write people’s names in a book and count them

the whole empire: The phrase that the BSB translates as the whole empire is literally “all the world.” This does not mean all the nations on the whole earth at that time. Rather, it refers here to all the countries that the Roman emperor ruled.

Some English versions translate this phrase literally. For example:

all the world (NRSV)

Some other English versions translate the meaning that this phrase had at the time, “the entire Roman world.” Other ways to translate this are:

all the empire (NET)

throughout the Roman empire (GNT)

all people in the countries under Roman rule (NCV)

General Comment on 2:1a–b

In some languages, it may be more natural to put Caesar’s words in direct speech. For example:

In those days, Caesar Augustus gave this order: “Everyone in the empire must be registered.”

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-newevent

ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις

in ¬the days those

This time reference introduces a new event. Alternate translation: [around that same time]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις

in ¬the days those

Here, Luke uses the term days to refer to a particular period of time. Alternate translation: [around that same time]

Note 3 topic: writing-newevent

ἐγένετο

˱it˲_became

Luke uses this phrase to show that this is the beginning of an account. If your language has a way of showing the start of an account, you may use that in your translation. If not, you may choose not to represent this phrase.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ

came_out ˓a˒_decree (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρά Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πασᾶν τήν οἰκουμένην)

The decree did not go out by itself, even though Luke speaks as if it did. Messengers likely proclaimed the emperor’s command throughout the empire. Alternate translation: [sent out messengers with a decree ordering]

Note 5 topic: writing-participants

Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου

Caesar Augustus

Caesar was the title of the emperor of the Roman Empire. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could express this explicitly. Alternate translation: [King Augustus, who ruled the Roman Empire]

Note 6 topic: translate-names

Αὐγούστου

Augustus

Augustus is the name of a man.

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην

˓to_be˒_registering (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρά Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πασᾶν τήν οἰκουμένην)

Luke assumes that his readers will know that this was for tax purposes. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [that all the people living in the Roman Empire had to list their names on the tax rolls]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὴν οἰκουμένην

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρά Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πασᾶν τήν οἰκουμένην)

The term world refers specifically to the part of the world that Caesar Augustus ruled. It is actually describing the people living in that part of the world by association to where they lived. Alternate translation: [the people living in the Roman Empire]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

    1. OET-LV words
    2. OET-RV words
    3. Strongs
    4. Greek word
    5. Greek lemma
    6. Role/Morphology
    7. OET Gloss
    8. VLT Gloss
    9. CAPS codes
    10. Confidence
    11. OET tags
    12. OET word #
    1. And
    2. -
    3. 11610
    4. PS
    5. de
    6. C-·······
    7. and
    8. and
    9. PS
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38626
    1. it became
    2. -
    3. 10960
    5. ginomai
    6. V-IAM3··S
    7. ˱it˲ became
    8. ˱it˲ became
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38625
    1. in
    2. -
    3. 17220
    5. en
    6. P-·······
    7. in
    8. in
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38627
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····DFP
    7. ¬the
    8. ¬the
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38628
    1. those
    2. -
    3. 15650
    5. ekeinos
    6. E-····DFP
    7. those
    8. those
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38630
    1. days
    2. time
    3. 22500
    5. hēmera
    6. N-····DFP
    7. days
    8. days
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38629
    1. +a decree
    2. decree
    3. 13780
    5. dogma
    6. N-····NNS
    7. ˓a˒ decree
    8. ˓a˒ decree
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38632
    1. came out
    2. -
    3. 18310
    5. exerχomai
    6. V-IAA3··S
    7. came_out
    8. came_out
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38631
    1. from
    2. -
    3. 38440
    5. para
    6. P-·······
    7. from
    8. from
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38633
    1. Kaisar
    2. Caesar
    3. 25410
    4. U
    5. kaisar
    6. N-····GMS
    7. Kaisar
    8. Caesar
    9. U
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38634
    1. Augustus/(Sebastos)
    2. Augustus
    3. 8280
    4. U
    5. augoustos
    6. N-····GMS
    7. Augustus/(Sebastos)
    8. Augustus
    9. U
    10. Person=Augustus; TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38635
    1. all
    2. -
    3. 39560
    5. pas
    6. E-····AFS
    7. all
    8. all
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38638
    1. the
    2. -
    3. 35880
    5. ho
    6. E-····AFS
    7. the
    8. the
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38639
    1. inhabited world
    2. -
    3. 36250
    5. oikoumenē
    6. N-····AFS
    7. inhabited_world
    8. inhabited_world
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38640
    1. to be registering
    2. register
    3. 5830
    5. apografō
    6. V-NPM····
    7. ˓to_be˒ registering
    8. ˓to_be˒ registering
    9. -
    10. TBirth_of_Jesus
    11. 38637

OET (OET-LV) And it_became in the those days, a_decree came_out from Kaisar Augustus/(Sebastos), all the inhabited_world to_be_registering.

OET (OET-RV) At that time, Caesar Augustus sent a decree that everyone throughout the empire needed to register in a census.

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

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◄ ↨ LUKE 2:1 ↑ → ► ║ ©