1
At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the Roman Empire.
2
This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3
All the people went to register in the cities where their ancestors had lived.
4
So Joseph went from Nazareth, a city in Galilee, to a Judean city called Bethlehem. Joseph, a descendant of King David, went to Bethlehem because David had been born there.
5
Joseph went there to register with Mary. She had been promised to him in marriage and was pregnant.
6
While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child.
7
She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn't any room for them in the inn.