Now in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled.
World English Bible
Luke 2:1
This verse is examined in more than one Scripture Analysis section. Each lens is shown on its own terms, in the section's own words; GEBible reaches no verdict of its own.
Show this verse in
WEB ▾
Show this verse in
-
Showing
WEB World English Bible Public Domain ✓ - Modern English
- BSB Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
- LSV Literal Standard Version A modern, highly literal translation (2020) · CC BY-SA 4.0
- ULB Unlocked Literal Bible An open-licensed literal translation produced for translators · CC BY-SA 4.0
- WMB World Messianic Bible The World English Bible with Hebrew names and Messianic-Jewish terms · Public Domain
- FBV Free Bible Version A modern translation in contemporary English from the original languages · CC BY-SA 4.0
- BBE Bible in Basic English A 20th-century translation using a simple, limited vocabulary · Public Domain
- ULT unfoldingWord Literal Text unfoldingWord's open-licensed literal translation, the successor to the ULB · CC BY-SA 4.0
- MSB Majority Standard Bible A modern translation of the Majority/Byzantine text — the Berean counterpart to the critical-text BSB · Public Domain
- TCENT Text-Critical English New Testament A modern reasoned-eclectic New Testament (2022) · CC BY 4.0
- F35 Family 35 New Testament Wilbur Pickering's Byzantine-priority New Testament, with text-critical commentary notes · CC BY-SA 4.0
- OJB Orthodox Jewish Bible A Messianic-Jewish English Bible using transliterated Hebrew names and terms · CC BY 4.0
- Historic editions
- KJV King James Version Public Domain
- ASV American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
- GNV Geneva Bible (1599) The Reformation-era study Bible that preceded the King James · Public Domain
- DRA Douay-Rheims (1899) An English Catholic translation from the Latin Vulgate · Public Domain
- YLT Young's Literal Translation An extremely literal 19th-century rendering · Public Domain
- DBY Darby Bible A literal 19th-century translation by J. N. Darby · Public Domain
- WBT Webster's Bible Noah Webster's 1833 modernization of the King James Version · Public Domain
- TYNDALE Tyndale New Testament (1534) The pioneering early-modern English New Testament (New Testament only) · Public Domain
- JPS JPS Tanakh (1917) An early Jewish English translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament only) · Public Domain
- RV Revised Version (1885) The 1885 British revision of the King James Version; parent of the American Standard Version · Public Domain
- LEESER Isaac Leeser Tanakh (1853) The first Jewish English translation of the Hebrew Bible (1853, Old Testament only) · Public Domain
- KJVCP KJV Cambridge Paragraph Bible David Norton's critical Cambridge edition of the King James Version, set in paragraphs · Public Domain
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
-
A Roman census required everyone to travel to their ancestral hometown to be counted.
History/Archaeology · Luke 2:1
The historical record: Matthew anchors the birth to the reign of Herod, while Luke ties it to the census under Quirinius — placing the two accounts about a decade apart. · 4 documented · 1 debated
Contradictions (3)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
-
When was Jesus born?
Matthew 2:1 places Jesus's birth 'in the days of Herod the king' — meaning before Herod the Great's death in 4 BCE. Luke 1:5 likewise puts the conception under Herod, but Luke 2:1-4 anchors the birth to the census 'when Quirinius was governor of Syria.'
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Chronology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
-
Was Jesus born in a house or a manger?
Luke 2:1-7 has Mary deliver Jesus and lay him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Matthew 2:1-2, 11 has the magi visit the family in a house.
Critical scholarship: Leans toward reconciliation.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
-
Where did Joseph and Mary live before the birth of Jesus?
Luke 2:1-7 says Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth and traveled to Bethlehem only because of the census. Matthew 2:1-11 has Joseph and Mary already in Bethlehem, in a house, with no mention of a Nazareth residence or any travel.
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Parallel accounts (distinct sources)
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
Other verses examined for the same kind of question or claim
Within each section, grouped by shared field or question type — not a cross-section comparison.
Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Luke 2:1 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/luke/2/1?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).