LUKE 2:1 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT And in those days, it happened that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for all the world to register.

UST Also during that time, Caesar Augustus, who ruled over the whole Roman Empire, commanded that every person living in his empire had to register his name in an official list of the people who lived there.

BSB Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.[fn]

2:1 Or of the whole land or of the whole world

MSB (Same as BSB above including footnotes)

BLB And it came to pass in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the world.

AICNT Now it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

OEB About that time an edict was issued by the Emperor Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole Empire.

2DT It happened in those days: A decree exited from Kaisar [Caesar] Augoustos for all the inhabited world to be registered.

WEBBE Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus to register all the empire for taxes.

LSV And it came to pass in those days, there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world be registered—

FBV It was the time when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that there should be a census of everyone in the Roman Empire.

TCNT In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered in a census.

T4T About that time the Emperor Augustus commanded that ◄his officials must write down the names/a census be taken► of all the people who lived in countries controlled by the Roman government {that the Roman government controlled}, so that the government could collect taxes from them.

LEB Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar[fn] Augustus to register all the empire.

2:1 Or “the emperor”

BBE Now it came about in those days that an order went out from Caesar Augustus that there was to be a numbering of all the world.

Moff Now in those days an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for a census of the whole world.

Wymth Just at this time an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for the registration of the whole Empire.

ASV Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled.

DRA And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled.

YLT And it came to pass in those days, there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world be enrolled —

Drby But it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census should be made of all the habitable world.

RV Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled.

SLT And it was in those days an order came out from Caesar Angustus, for the whole habitable globe to be enrolled.

Wbstr And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.

KJB-1769 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
(And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. )

KJB-1611 ¶ And it came to passe in those dayes, that there went out a decree from Cesar Augustus, that all the world should be [fn]taxed.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation and footnotes)

2:1 Or, inrolled.

Bshps And it came to passe in those dayes, yt there went out a commaundement fro Augustus Cesar, that all the world should be taxed.
(And it came to pass in those days, it there went out a commandment from Augustus Caesar, that all the world should be taxed.)

Gnva And it came to passe in those dayes, that there came a decree from Augustus Cesar, that all the world should be taxed.
(And it came to pass in those days, that there came a decree from Augustus Caesar, that all the world should be taxed. )

Cvdl It fortuned at the same tyme, that there wete out a comaundement fro Augustus the Emperoure, that the whole worlde shulde be taxed.
(It fortuned at the same time, that there went out a commandment from Augustus the Emperor, that the whole world should be taxed.)

TNT And it chaunced in thoose dayes: that ther went oute a commaundment from Auguste the Emperour that all the woorlde shuld be taxed.
(And it chanced in thoose days: that there went out a commaundment from Auguste the Emperour that all the woorlde should be taxed. )

Wycl And it was don in tho daies, a maundement wente out fro the emperour August, that al the world schulde be discryued.
(And it was done in those days, a commandment went out from the emperor August, that all the world should be discryued.)

Luth Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit, daß ein Gebot vom Kaiser Augustus ausging, daß alle Welt geschätzt würde.
(It gifted itself/yourself/themselves but to/for the/of_the time/period, that a commandment/command from_the Kaiser Augustus exit, that all world estimated/valued would.)

ClVg Factum est autem in diebus illis, exiit edictum a Cæsare Augusto ut describeretur universus orbis.[fn]
(Done it_is however in/into/on days to_them, went_out edictum from Cæsare Augusto as describeretur the_whole world. )

2.1 Exiit edictum a Cæsare. AUG., BED. Augustus duodecim annis circa nativitatem Christi in pace regnavit, etc., usque ad hic primum Judæa facta est stipendiaria Romanis.

2.1 He_went_out edictum from Cæsare. AUG., BED. Augustus twelve of_the_years around/about birth of_Christ in/into/on peace reigned, etc., until to this/here first Yudea facts it_is stipendiaria Romanis.

UGNT ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου, ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην.
(egeneto de en tais haʸmerais ekeinais, exaʸlthen dogma para Kaisaros Augoustou, apografesthai pasan taʸn oikoumenaʸn.)

SBL-GNT Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην·
(Egeneto de en tais haʸmerais ekeinais exaʸlthen dogma para Kaisaros Augoustou apografesthai pasan taʸn oikoumenaʸn;)

RP-GNT Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου, ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην.
(Egeneto de en tais haʸmerais ekeinais, exaʸlthen dogma para Kaisaros Augoustou, apografesthai pasan taʸn oikoumenaʸn.)

TC-GNT Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις, ἐξῆλθε δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου, ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην.
(Egeneto de en tais haʸmerais ekeinais, exaʸlthe dogma para Kaisaros Augoustou, apografesthai pasan taʸn oikoumenaʸn. )

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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

¶ At that time Emperor Augustus commanded/decreed
¶ Near the time when John was born, the Exalted High King ordered
¶ During those months the Great Emperor of Rome decided that his people must be counted. So he said,

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 the people in the whole Roman Empire should be registered.
his officials to write the names of the people in all the countries that Rome ruled, and then count them.
“The names of everyone under our^(incl) Roman government must be recorded in a book.”

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.”

UTN 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)