Matius 24:14

24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, ¹  and then the end will come.

Markus 14:9

14:9 I tell you the truth, ²  wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

Lukas 2:1

The Census and the Birth of Jesus

2:1 Now ³  in those days a decree ⁴  went out from Caesar ⁵  Augustus ⁶  to register ⁷  all the empire ⁸  for taxes.

Roma 1:8

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ⁹  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world.

[24:14]  ¹ tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).

[14:9]  ² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[2:1]  ³ tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[2:1]  ⁴ sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.

[2:1]  ⁵ tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[2:1]  ⁶ sn Caesar Augustus refers to Octavian, who was Caesar from 27 b.c. to a.d. 14. He was known for his administrative prowess.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “that all the empire should be registered for taxes.” The passive infinitive ἀπογράφεσθαι (apografesqai) has been rendered as an active in the translation to improve the English style. The verb is regarded as a technical term for official registration in tax lists (BDAG 108 s.v. ἀπογράφω a).

[2:1]  sn This census (a decree…to register all the empire) is one of the more disputed historical remarks in Luke. Josephus (Ant. 18.1.1 [18.1-2]) only mentions a census in a.d. 6, too late for this setting. Such a census would have been a massive undertaking; it could have started under one ruler and emerged under another, to whose name it became attached. This is one possibility to explain the data. Another is that Quirinius, who became governor in Syria for the later census, may have been merely an administrator for this census. See also Luke 2:2.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).

[1:8]  ⁹ tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”