1
Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην·
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the inhabited world should be registered.
2
(⸀αὕτη ἀπογραφὴ πρώτη ἐγένετο ἡγεμονεύοντος τῆς Συρίας Κυρηνίου·)
This was the first registration, when Quirinius governed Syria.
Why this rendering
Luke.2.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
Luke dates the time twice by Roman names — Καῖσαρ Αὐγοῦστος at v.1 and Κυρήνιος at v.2. Both names are unique in the corpus, and no Roman emperor's name occurs at all in Matthew, Mark or John (Caesar appears often as a title, but not the name Augustus). ἀπογραφή, a registration, is also unique, and the verb ἀπογράφω stands only three times, all in this chapter (2:1, 3, 5). So by vocabulary alone these two verses are Luke's own. It is the same manner as 1:5, which dated the time by Herod's days and the division of Abijah — there by Jewish names, here by Roman. SBLGNT marks a variant at v.2 (⸂⸃): the word order divides among the manuscripts. Nor does the Greek settle what πρώτη, first, attaches to — this was the first registration, or this registration was before…
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “This was the first registration, when Quirinius governed Syria” — as the base text has it
Basis Renders the base text's word order and records what πρώτη attaches to in the analysis; the names are transliterated.
Unfold as “this registration was before Quirinius was governor of Syria”
Basis Eases the chronological difficulty.
Rejected The Greek allows that reading, but it is one among several; unfolding it makes the translation settle a chronological problem on the reader's behalf, and the reader cannot see that it has.
3
καὶ ἐπορεύοντο πάντες ἀπογράφεσθαι, ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν ⸀ἑαυτοῦ πόλιν.
And all went to be registered, each to his own city.
4
Ἀνέβη δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ πόλεως Ναζαρὲθ εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν εἰς πόλιν Δαυὶδ ἥτις καλεῖται Βηθλέεμ, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐξ οἴκου καὶ πατριᾶς Δαυίδ,
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5
ἀπογράψασθαι σὺν Μαριὰμ τῇ ⸂ἐμνηστευμένῃ αὐτῷ⸃, οὔσῃ ἐγκύῳ.
to be registered with Mary, who was betrothed to him and was pregnant.
6
ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ τεκεῖν αὐτήν,
And it came to pass, while they were there, that the days were fulfilled for her to give birth;
7
καὶ ἔτεκεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, καὶ ἐσπαργάνωσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀνέκλινεν αὐτὸν ⸀ἐν φάτνῃ, διότι οὐκ ἦν αὐτοῖς τόπος ἐν τῷ καταλύματι.
and she bore her firstborn son, and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the lodging room.
Why this rendering
Luke.2.7 Observation
Syntactic observation
κατάλυμα is often rendered inn, but the other two places where the word stands in this corpus give a different picture — **Mark 14:14 and Luke 22:11**, where it is the **room** in which to eat the Passover. Three places, one word, and at two of them a room inside a house. And Luke knows a separate word for an inn: πανδοχεῖον stands at **Luke 10:34**, where the good Samaritan brings the wounded man, and nowhere else in the corpus. So Luke has a word for an inn and does not use it at 2:7. φάτνη, manger, occurs four times in Luke, three of them here (2:7, 12, 16) and the fourth at **13:15**, where on the sabbath an ox or donkey is loosed from the manger and led to water — so what a manger is for is visible inside Luke. σπαργανόω, to wrap in strips of cloth, stands at 2:7 and 2:12 only, and at v.12 it is called **the sign** — the cloths and the manger are what the shepherds are given to look for.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “because there was no place for them in the lodging room” — one word with Mark 14:14
Basis One rendering across the three places keeps the link with the upper room of Mark and Luke; and since Luke has πανδοχεῖον for an inn, putting inn here would fuse two words into one.
“because there was no room for them in the inn”
Basis Uses the settled rendering.
Rejected The word's other two places are both a room inside a house, and Luke uses a different word for an inn at 10:34; rendering it inn erases that distinction and lets the translation settle in advance what the verse says.
8
Καὶ ποιμένες ἦσαν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ ἀγραυλοῦντες καὶ φυλάσσοντες φυλακὰς τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν ποίμνην αὐτῶν.
And there were shepherds in that same region, staying out in the fields and keeping watch by night over their flock.
9
⸀καὶ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπέστη αὐτοῖς καὶ δόξα κυρίου περιέλαμψεν αὐτούς, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν·
And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared a great fear.
10
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἄγγελος· Μὴ φοβεῖσθε, ἰδοὺ γὰρ εὐαγγελίζομαι ὑμῖν χαρὰν μεγάλην ἥτις ἔσται παντὶ τῷ λαῷ,
And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will be for all the people:
11
ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον σωτὴρ ὅς ἐστιν χριστὸς κύριος ἐν πόλει Δαυίδ·
today in the city of David a Saviour was born for you, who is Christ the Lord.
12
καὶ τοῦτο ὑμῖν ⸀τὸ σημεῖον, εὑρήσετε βρέφος ἐσπαργανωμένον ⸀καὶ κείμενον ἐν φάτνῃ.
And this is the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”
13
καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς ⸀οὐρανίου αἰνούντων τὸν θεὸν καὶ λεγόντων·
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14
Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις θεῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη ἐν ἀνθρώποις ⸀εὐδοκίας.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people of his good pleasure.”
Why this rendering
Luke.2.14 Observation
Syntactic observation
The last word is a **genitive**, εὐδοκίας. So it reads peace among people of εὐδοκία, qualifying the people. Some manuscripts have the nominative εὐδοκία, and SBLGNT marks the variant (⸀); with the nominative a third line appears — peace among people, good pleasure. So one letter makes the song either two lines or three: with the genitive, glory in the heights and peace on earth; with the nominative, glory, peace, and good pleasure. εὐδοκία occurs three times in the corpus, the other two being Matthew 11:26 and Luke 10:21 — the Matthean and Lukan forms of the same saying, so it seemed good before you. The στρατιά, host, of v.13 is unique in the corpus and is one of the two places where angels are counted as an army, the other being the λεγιών of Matthew 26:53.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “on earth peace among people of his good pleasure” — the genitive kept, two lines
Basis The base text prints the genitive; with it the phrase qualifies whom the peace is among, and the song is two lines. The other reading is recorded in the variants.
“on earth peace, good will among people” — the nominative, three lines
Basis Follows the manuscripts with the nominative, making three lines.
Rejected By our base-text decision we follow SBLGNT; but both readings are old and neither collapses grammatically, so the division is left in the variants.
15
Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ’ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι, ⸀οἱ ποιμένες ⸀ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους· Διέλθωμεν δὴ ἕως Βηθλέεμ καὶ ἴδωμεν τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονὸς ὃ ὁ κύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν.
And it came to pass, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go across to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16
καὶ ἦλθαν σπεύσαντες καὶ ἀνεῦραν τήν τε Μαριὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τὸ βρέφος κείμενον ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ·
And they came in haste and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
17
ἰδόντες δὲ ⸀ἐγνώρισαν περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ λαληθέντος αὐτοῖς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου τούτου.
And seeing it they made known what had been spoken to them about this child.
18
καὶ πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν περὶ τῶν λαληθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρὸς αὐτούς,
And all who heard marvelled at what the shepherds told them.
19
ἡ δὲ ⸀Μαρία πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συμβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς.
But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart.
20
καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν οἱ ποιμένες δοξάζοντες καὶ αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἤκουσαν καὶ εἶδον καθὼς ἐλαλήθη πρὸς αὐτούς.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been spoken to them.
21
Καὶ ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν ἡμέραι ὀκτὼ τοῦ περιτεμεῖν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦς, τὸ κληθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου πρὸ τοῦ συλλημφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ.
And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise him, his name was called Jesus — the name called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22
Καὶ ὅτε ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ καθαρισμοῦ αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸν νόμον Μωϋσέως, ἀνήγαγον αὐτὸν εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα παραστῆσαι τῷ κυρίῳ,
And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,
23
καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν νόμῳ κυρίου ὅτι Πᾶν ἄρσεν διανοῖγον μήτραν ἅγιον τῷ κυρίῳ κληθήσεται,
as it is written in the law of the Lord: “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”;
24
καὶ τοῦ δοῦναι θυσίαν κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν ⸀τῷ νόμῳ κυρίου, ζεῦγος τρυγόνων ἢ δύο νοσσοὺς περιστερῶν.
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord: “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
25
Καὶ ἰδοὺ ⸂ἄνθρωπος ἦν⸃ ἐν Ἰερουσαλὴμ ᾧ ὄνομα Συμεών, καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος δίκαιος καὶ εὐλαβής, προσδεχόμενος παράκλησιν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, καὶ πνεῦμα ἦν ἅγιον ἐπ’ αὐτόν·
And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
26
καὶ ἦν αὐτῷ κεχρηματισμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου μὴ ἰδεῖν θάνατον πρὶν ⸂ἢ ἂν⸃ ἴδῃ τὸν χριστὸν κυρίου.
And it had been disclosed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27
καὶ ἦλθεν ἐν τῷ πνεύματι εἰς τὸ ἱερόν· καὶ ἐν τῷ εἰσαγαγεῖν τοὺς γονεῖς τὸ παιδίον Ἰησοῦν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοὺς κατὰ τὸ εἰθισμένον τοῦ νόμου περὶ αὐτοῦ
And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law,
28
καὶ αὐτὸς ἐδέξατο αὐτὸ εἰς τὰς ⸀ἀγκάλας καὶ εὐλόγησεν τὸν θεὸν καὶ εἶπεν·
he took him into his arms and blessed God and said,
29
Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα, κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου ἐν εἰρήνῃ·
“Now, Master, you release your servant in peace, according to your word,
30
ὅτι εἶδον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου τὸ σωτήριόν σου
because my eyes have seen your salvation,
31
ὃ ἡτοίμασας κατὰ πρόσωπον πάντων τῶν λαῶν,
which you prepared before the face of all the peoples —
32
φῶς εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν ἐθνῶν καὶ δόξαν λαοῦ σου Ἰσραήλ.
a light for revelation to the nations, and glory for your people Israel.”
33
καὶ ἦν ⸂ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ⸃ καὶ ἡ ⸀μήτηρ θαυμάζοντες ἐπὶ τοῖς λαλουμένοις περὶ αὐτοῦ.
And his father and mother were marvelling at what was said about him.
34
καὶ εὐλόγησεν αὐτοὺς Συμεὼν καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Μαριὰμ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ· Ἰδοὺ οὗτος κεῖται εἰς πτῶσιν καὶ ἀνάστασιν πολλῶν ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ εἰς σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον,
And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this one is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against —
35
καὶ σοῦ ⸀δὲ αὐτῆς τὴν ψυχὴν διελεύσεται ῥομφαία, ὅπως ἂν ἀποκαλυφθῶσιν ἐκ πολλῶν καρδιῶν διαλογισμοί.
and a great sword will pass through your own life as well — so that the reasonings of many hearts may be revealed.”
Why this rendering
Luke.2.35 Observation
Syntactic observation
ῥομφαία is unique in the corpus. The word for a sword here is otherwise μάχαιρα (seven in Matthew, three in Mark, two in John, five in Luke), and here Luke uses another. Whether the two name the same weapon is a matter for the lexica; what the text shows is that **Luke changes the word at this one place**. What it passes through is the ψυχή, which in this corpus is fixed as life — the word of Mark 8:35 and Matthew 16:25. Verses 34 and 35 pair: v.34 sets πτῶσις, falling, against ἀνάστασις, rising, and calls him σημεῖον ἀντιλεγόμενον, a sign spoken against; v.35 gives the result, that διαλογισμοί, inner reasonings, are revealed. ἀνάστασις is the word this corpus has rendered resurrection (four in Matthew, two in Mark, four in John, six in Luke), and here it stands against πτῶσις in the sense of standing up — one word with two faces.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “a great sword” — kept apart from μάχαιρα
Basis Luke changes the word and the rendering changes with it; what weapon it is the text does not say, so nothing beyond size is supplied.
“a sword”, matched to μάχαιρα
Basis Neither language has a natural pair to divide the two.
Rejected If a word used seventeen times and a word used once receive the same rendering, the fact that Luke changes it only here disappears.
36
Καὶ ἦν Ἅννα προφῆτις, θυγάτηρ Φανουήλ, ἐκ φυλῆς Ἀσήρ (αὕτη προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ἡμέραις πολλαῖς, ζήσασα ⸂μετὰ ἀνδρὸς ἔτη⸃ ἑπτὰ ἀπὸ τῆς παρθενίας αὐτῆς,
And there was Anna, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
37
καὶ αὐτὴ χήρα ⸀ἕως ἐτῶν ὀγδοήκοντα τεσσάρων,) ἣ οὐκ ⸀ἀφίστατο τοῦ ἱεροῦ νηστείαις καὶ δεήσεσιν λατρεύουσα νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν.
and was a widow until eighty-four years; she did not leave the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers.
38
⸀καὶ αὐτῇ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐπιστᾶσα ἀνθωμολογεῖτο τῷ ⸀θεῷ καὶ ἐλάλει περὶ αὐτοῦ πᾶσιν τοῖς προσδεχομένοις ⸀λύτρωσιν Ἰερουσαλήμ.
And coming up at that very hour she gave thanks to God and spoke of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
39
Καὶ ὡς ἐτέλεσαν ⸀πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὸν νόμον κυρίου, ⸀ἐπέστρεψαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ⸀εἰς πόλιν ἑαυτῶν Ναζαρέθ.
And when they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth.
40
Τὸ δὲ παιδίον ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο ⸂πληρούμενον σοφίᾳ⸃, καὶ χάρις θεοῦ ἦν ἐπ’ αὐτό.
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon him.
41
Καὶ ἐπορεύοντο οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ κατ’ ἔτος εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ τῇ ἑορτῇ τοῦ πάσχα.
And his parents went every year to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover.
42
καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο ἐτῶν δώδεκα, ⸀ἀναβαινόντων ⸀αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς ἑορτῆς
And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the feast;
43
καὶ τελειωσάντων τὰς ἡμέρας, ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν αὐτοὺς ὑπέμεινεν Ἰησοῦς ὁ παῖς ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ οὐκ ⸂ἔγνωσαν οἱ γονεῖς⸃ αὐτοῦ.
and when they had completed the days and were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, and his parents did not know it.
44
νομίσαντες δὲ αὐτὸν ⸂εἶναι ἐν τῇ συνοδίᾳ⸃ ἦλθον ἡμέρας ὁδὸν καὶ ἀνεζήτουν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν ⸀καὶ τοῖς γνωστοῖς,
Supposing him to be in the company, they went a day's journey, and were looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances;
45
καὶ μὴ ⸀εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ ⸀ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν.
and not finding him they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
46
καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ἡμέρας τρεῖς εὗρον αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ καθεζόμενον ἐν μέσῳ τῶν διδασκάλων καὶ ἀκούοντα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπερωτῶντα αὐτούς·
And it came to pass after three days that they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and questioning them.
47
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες οἱ ἀκούοντες αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ συνέσει καὶ ταῖς ἀποκρίσεσιν αὐτοῦ.
And all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.
48
καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν ἐξεπλάγησαν, καὶ ⸂εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ⸃· Τέκνον, τί ἐποίησας ἡμῖν οὕτως; ἰδοὺ ὁ πατήρ σου καὶ ἐγὼ ὀδυνώμενοι ⸀ἐζητοῦμέν σε.
And seeing him they were amazed, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in anguish.”
49
καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς· Τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ᾔδειτε ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου δεῖ εἶναί με;
And he said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be among my Father's things?”
Why this rendering
Luke.2.49 Observation
Syntactic observation
ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου has **no noun.** There is only the neuter plural article τοῖς and the genitive τοῦ πατρός μου, and the Greek does not say what things are meant. Two readings follow: taken of place, in my Father's house; taken of business, about my Father's affairs. The setting is the temple, which brings the place reading nearer — but v.46 has already said ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, in the temple, so there is little need to say the place again. Either way a translation must supply a noun, and in supplying it puts into the text a word the text does not have. The passage divides elsewhere too: at v.48 Mary says ὁ πατήρ σου, your father, and at v.49 Jesus says τοῦ πατρός μου, my Father — one word for two persons. And the ὀδυνώμενοι, in anguish, of v.48 is a form of ὀδυνάομαι, a verb standing three times in the corpus, all three in Luke — the other two at **16:24, 25**, where the rich man is in torment in the flame. A mother's anguish for her son and that torment are one word. The διατηρέω, to keep, of v.51 is unique in the corpus and pairs with the συμβάλλω, to ponder, of v.19 — Mary lays things up twice.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “I must be among my Father's things” — no noun supplied
Basis The text has no noun and none is supplied; the awkwardness is the Greek's own and leaves both readings open.
“in my Father's house” or “about my Father's business”
Basis Supplies a noun so the sentence reads.
Rejected Both are old readings and neither is in the text; supplying one makes the translation choose, and this project puts that choice in the analysis rather than in the text.
Lost in translation
the nounless τοῖς Greek can say the things of… with the article alone; English and Korean can barely do so. Leaving the noun out reads awkwardly, putting one in adds what is not there — either way the openness of the Greek closes.
50
καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐ συνῆκαν τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς.
But they did not understand the word he spoke to them.
51
καὶ κατέβη μετ’ αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Ναζαρέθ, καὶ ἦν ὑποτασσόμενος αὐτοῖς. καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ διετήρει πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ⸀ταῦτα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart.
52
Καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν ⸂σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ⸃ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature and grace, before God and people.