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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 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.
And everyone went to his own town to register.
All the people went to the towns of their ancestors in order to register their names.
So, each person went to the village/town where his ancestors had lived so that government officials could record/write his name in a book there.
And This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that introduces more information about the census that Caesar ordered in 2:1. To show that people going to their own towns to register was the next thing that happened after Caesar ordered a census, the BSB translates this conjunction as And. Caesar had ordered people to go to the town where their ancestors had lived in order for officials to register them. Then the officials could write each person’s name as being from that place. Here are some other ways to connect this verse to the context:
Use a general way to connect events in your language, as the BSB does. The Greek text uses the common connector that is often translated as “And.” For example:
And all went to their own towns to be registered. (NCV)
Some versions do not use a connector. For example:
Everyone went to his own town to be registered. (NET)
Make it explicit that this verse is a result of 2:1. For example:
Because of this law/order, everyone went to his own town to register.
Connect this verse to the context in a natural way in your language.
everyone went to his own town: This clause describes what Caesar required people to do. The Greek verb form that the BSB translates as went indicates that this action happened over a period of time. People were going to their own towns to be registered. Some other ways to translate this are:
And everyone was on his way…each to his own city. (NASB)
Everyone had to go to their own hometown (CEV)
his own town: In this context, the phrase his own town refers to the town where his ancestors had lived. This may not be the town or area where the person was born. It also may not be the town where he was then living. Some other ways to translate this are:
the cities where their ancestors had lived (GW)
their own ancestral towns (NLT)
to register: The Greek word that the BSB translates as to register is the same word as in 2:1b. There the BSB translates this word as “census.” As in 2:1b, it means “to register” or “to enroll.” The emperor ordered people to tell officials their names so that the officials could write them in the government’s record book.
Note 1 topic: writing-background
ἐπορεύοντο πάντες
˓were˒_going all
Luke describes the registration as already in progress in order to account for why Joseph and Mary had to travel at this time, late in her pregnancy. Alternate translation: [everyone was going]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πόλιν
to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἐπορεύοντο πάντες ἀπογράφεσθαι ἕκαστος εἰς τήν ἑαυτοῦ πόλιν)
The phrase his own city refers to the city where a person’s family had originally lived. A person might have since moved to a different city. Alternate translation: [to the city that their families came from]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἀπογράφεσθαι
˓to_be˒_registering
Alternate translation: [to provide their names for the tax rolls]
2:1-7 Having described John’s birth, Luke gives a parallel account of Jesus’ birth, with emphasis on its lowliness. Although he was the glorious Messiah, Jesus entered the world in humble circumstances.
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.