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OET (OET-LV) And in the_ fifteenth _year of_the government of_Tiberios Kaisar, Pontios Pilatos was governing of_ the _Youdaia, and Haʸrōdaʸs being_quarter_ruler of_ the _Galilaia/(Gālīl), And Filippos the brother of_him being_quarter_ruler of_ the _Itouraios and Traⱪōnitis region, and Lusanios the being_quarter_ruler of_Abilaʸnaʸ,
OET (OET-RV) It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius when Pontius Pilate was the governor of Yudea and Herod was the ruler of the Galilean quarter. His brother Philip was the ruler of the Iturean quarter and of the region of Traconitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of the Abilene quarter.
The last event in Luke 2 describes Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old. This section begins about eighteen years later. At the beginning of chapter 3, both Jesus and John the Baptizer were about thirty years old. Both men were ready to begin public ministry.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
The Preaching of John (NCV)
John the Baptist and Jesus (REB)
John the Baptizer tells people to prepare themselves for the Messiah
Parts of Luke 3:1–20 are basically the same as verses in Matthew 3:1–12. But Luke 3:1–2, 10–14, and 19–20 are not in Matthew.
This paragraph introduces John the Baptizer and gives historical background. The information about the government and religious leaders in 3:1–2 shows the time period when John began his work. John is the main person in this section. In some languages it may be helpful to introduce John before giving the information about leaders in that time period. See the General Comment on 3:1–2 at the end of the notes on 3:2b for specific suggestions.
In some languages, the difference between background information and the main part of a story is shown by using certain verbs or other markers. If this is true in your language, you should try to show these differences here in 3:1 and 3:2.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
¶ In the fifteenth year that Tiberius was Caesar/emperor of Rome,
¶ Emperor Tiberius had ruled the Roman empire for fourteen years. During his fifteenth year,
¶ The following events happened when Tiberius had been the high king of Rome for fifteen years.
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar: The phrase the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar refers to the fifteenth year that Tiberius Caesar had been emperor. He ruled the Roman Empire from the city of Rome. This fifteenth year was somewhere around A.D. 26 to 28.
Tiberius had completed fourteen years of rule, and the events in this chapter began during his fifteenth year of ruling. So in some languages it may be natural to translate this as:
Tiberius had already been emperor of Rome for fourteen years. During his fifteenth year….
reign: The word reign refers to the period of time that a king rules over a country or empire. Tiberius ruled the entire Roman Empire, which included the provinces of Judea (3:1b) and Galilee (3:1c) and also many other provinces.
Tiberius Caesar: Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor. Tiberius was his personal name. Caesar was his title, which means “emperor.” The word Caesar also occurs in 2:1a–b. Some ways to translate this are:
the high king Tiberius
Tiberius, the supreme ruler
Emperor Tiberius (CEV)
Decide whether it is more natural in your language to put the title before the personal name or after the name.
while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of the province of Judea,
At that time, Pontius Pilate governed/ruled the province of Judea.
Several English versions put a dash at the end of 3:1a before the clause about political leaders. Some English versions begin a new sentence at the end of this clause; others, such as the NIV, put another dash there. Other English versions use commas in both places. Connect the clauses in a way that is natural in your language. See the General Comment on 3:1–2 at the end of the notes on 3:2b for more information and suggestions.
Pontius Pilate: Pontius Pilate was the personal name of the leader of the district of Judea.
governor: The Greek word that the BSB translates as governor is literally “governing.” It is a general word that means “ruling” or “leading.” It is used of ruling over a district rather than over an entire country or empire. In the Roman Empire, a governor ruled under someone with greater authority.
Judea: Judea was the name of one of the provinces in the Roman empire. Judea was part of the homeland of the Jews.
Herod tetrarch of Galilee,
and Herod was government leader/ruler of the region of Galilee,
Herod governed/ruled the province of Galilee,
Herod tetrarch of Galilee: Herod was the name of the government leader who ruled over the province or district of Galilee. (Galilee was another part of the homeland of the Jews.) Herod’s full name was Herod Antipas. His father, who is sometimes called Herod the Great, was king when Jesus was born.
In some languages it may be natural to translate this part of the verse as a complete clause:
Herod was tetrarch/governor of Galilee.
Herod ruled/governed the province called Galilee.
tetrarch: The word tetrarch literally means “ruler of a fourth part.” It refers to the government leader of one fourth of an area.
Herod the Great died not long after Jesus was born. When he died, Caesar divided the land that Herod ruled. Caesar appointed some of Herod’s sons to rule different parts. Herod Antipas became the ruler of the part called Galilee.
Luke gave these details to indicate the political situation when John the Baptist started his ministry. The focus is not on the meaning of the word tetrarch. For this reason, you may translate tetrarch in a general way. For example:
Herod was the ruler of Galilee (CEV)
Herod was the leader/governor of Galilee
Herod ruled Galilee (GW)
his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and his brother, Philip, was government leader of the districts/provinces of Iturea and Traconitis,
Herod’s older brother Philip ruled the districts/provinces of Iturea and Traconitis,
As in 3:1c, you may need to translate this part of the verse as a complete clause. For example:
His brother Philip was tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis.
his brother Philip: Philip was a half-brother of Herod.Philip’s mother was Cleopatra of Jerusalem. This was not the famous Cleopatra who was queen of Egypt. They were both sons of the older Herod, who was sometimes called Herod the Great, but they had different mothers. Philip was older than his brother Herod.
Ituraea and Trachonitis: Ituraea and Trachonitis were the names of two provinces/districts to the east of the province/district of Galilee. The people living in Ituraea and Trachonitis were Gentiles.
and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
and Lysanias was government leader of the district/province of Abilene,
and Lysanias ruled the province/district of Abilene.
As in 3:1c, you may need to translate this part of the verse as a complete clause. For example:
Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene.
Lysanias: Lysanias is the name of the ruler of the district of Abilene. Scholars do not know whether he was related to Herod the Great.
Abilene: Abilene was a province/district to the north and east of Galilee.
Note 1 topic: writing-newevent
ἐν ἔτει δὲ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς ἡγεμονίας Τιβερίου Καίσαρος
in ˓the˒_year (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐν ἔτει Δέ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς ἡγεμονίας Τιβερίου Καίσαρος ἡγεμονεύοντος Ποντίου Πιλάτου τῆς Ἰουδαίας καί τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Γαλιλαίας Ἡρῴδου Φιλίππου Δέ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Ἰτουραίας καί Τραχωνίτιδος χώρας καί Λυσανίου τῆς Ἀβιληνῆς τετραρχοῦντος)
This verse and the beginning of the next one are an extended time reference that introduces a new event. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [Everything that the angels and inspired people had said about John and Jesus began to come true during the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar]
Note 2 topic: translate-ordinal
ἐν ἔτει δὲ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ
in ˓the˒_year (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐν ἔτει Δέ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς ἡγεμονίας Τιβερίου Καίσαρος ἡγεμονεύοντος Ποντίου Πιλάτου τῆς Ἰουδαίας καί τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Γαλιλαίας Ἡρῴδου Φιλίππου Δέ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Ἰτουραίας καί Τραχωνίτιδος χώρας καί Λυσανίου τῆς Ἀβιληνῆς τετραρχοῦντος)
If your language does not use ordinal numbers, you can use a cardinal number here. Alternate translation: [in year 15]
Note 3 topic: writing-participants
Τιβερίου Καίσαρος
˱of˲_Tiberias Caesar
As in [2:1](../02/01.md), Caesar is 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 Tiberius, who ruled the Roman Empire]
Note 4 topic: translate-names
Τιβερίου
˱of˲_Tiberias
Tiberius is the name of a man.
Note 5 topic: translate-names
Ποντίου Πειλάτου & Ἡρῴδου & Φιλίππου & Λυσανίου
Pontius (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐν ἔτει Δέ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς ἡγεμονίας Τιβερίου Καίσαρος ἡγεμονεύοντος Ποντίου Πιλάτου τῆς Ἰουδαίας καί τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Γαλιλαίας Ἡρῴδου Φιλίππου Δέ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Ἰτουραίας καί Τραχωνίτιδος χώρας καί Λυσανίου τῆς Ἀβιληνῆς τετραρχοῦντος)
These are the names of men. Here, the Herod mentioned is not the same one as in [1:5](../01/05.md). Rather, it is his son. Luke makes further mention of him many times in this book.
Note 6 topic: translate-names
τῆς Ἰουδαίας & τῆς Γαλιλαίας & τῆς Ἰτουραίας καὶ Τραχωνίτιδος & τῆς Ἀβειληνῆς
˱of˲_the ¬the ˱of˲_Judea & ¬the ˱of˲_Galilee & ¬the ˱of˲_Iturea ¬the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐν ἔτει Δέ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ τῆς ἡγεμονίας Τιβερίου Καίσαρος ἡγεμονεύοντος Ποντίου Πιλάτου τῆς Ἰουδαίας καί τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Γαλιλαίας Ἡρῴδου Φιλίππου Δέ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ τετραρχοῦντος τῆς Ἰτουραίας καί Τραχωνίτιδος χώρας καί Λυσανίου τῆς Ἀβιληνῆς τετραρχοῦντος)
These are names of territories. Like Galilee, the name Judea occurs many times in this book.
Note 7 topic: translate-unknown
τετραρχοῦντος
being_tetrarch
In the Roman Empire, a tetrarch was the governor of one of four divisions of a country or province. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a general term. Alternate translation: [ruler]
OET (OET-LV) And in the_ fifteenth _year of_the government of_Tiberios Kaisar, Pontios Pilatos was governing of_ the _Youdaia, and Haʸrōdaʸs being_quarter_ruler of_ the _Galilaia/(Gālīl), And Filippos the brother of_him being_quarter_ruler of_ the _Itouraios and Traⱪōnitis region, and Lusanios the being_quarter_ruler of_Abilaʸnaʸ,
OET (OET-RV) It was the fifteenth year of the rule of Caesar Tiberius when Pontius Pilate was the governor of Yudea and Herod was the ruler of the Galilean quarter. His brother Philip was the ruler of the Iturean quarter and of the region of Traconitis, and Lysanias was the ruler of the Abilene quarter.
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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