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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 2 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
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
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.
This verse tells what was happening in the history of the world at the time when Jesus was born. Some versions, such as the NIV, put this verse in parentheses to show that it is background information. Consider how your language would indicate that 2:2 is background information.
This was the first census
(This was the first census/registration that happened in the Roman Empire.
(This was the first time that they wrote all the people’s names in a book.
to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
It happened while Quirinius was governor/leader of the province of Syria.)
They did this when Quirinius was governing/ruling the Roman province of Syria.)
the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria: Scholars understand this sentence in different ways. The two main interpretations are:
This was the first census in the Roman Empire. It happened while Quirinius was governor. For example:
This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. (NCV) (GNT, RSV, NJB, NET, NCV, REB, CEV, JBP)
This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor. This meaning implies that there was at least one later census while he was governor. For example:
This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. (GW) (BSB, GW, NIV, NASB, NLT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
census: The word census is the noun form of the Greek verb that means “register, enroll” that was used in 2:1b. Other words for census are “registration” and “enrollment.”
In some languages it may be more natural to use a verb phrase here. For example:
they wrote people’s names in a book
Quirinius: Quirinius is the name of a man. He was one of the Roman leaders who served Caesar. He governed a province that Rome ruled at that time.
governor: A governor was the leader of a province or country. The emperor had appointed him to this position.
Syria: Syria was one of many provinces or districts that the Romans ruled. It was a more powerful province than Judea and Galilee. In some languages it may be helpful to make it explicit that Syria was a province. For example:
the province of Syria
Note 1 topic: translate-names
Κυρηνίου
Cyrenius
Quirinius is the name of a man.
2:2 Quirinius was governor of Syria: Quirinius held this post AD 6–9. In 6–4 BC, Quirinius also had authority over Judea, possibly through some kind of joint rule. He may have begun the census. Historical accounts mention three other censuses at that time (in Syria, Gaul, and Spain), and there was no reason not to have one in Judea, though it is not mentioned in secular records. Jesus was born around 6–4 BC, before Herod the Great died in 4 BC (see Matt 2:1-19).
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.