Luke 2:3

3 Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for.

Luke 2:3 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 2:3

And all went to be taxed
Throughout Judea, Galilee, and Syria; men, women, and children;

every one into his own city;
where he was born, and had any estate, and to which he belonged.

Luke 2:3 In-Context

1 About that time Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Empire.
2 This was the first census when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3 Everyone had to travel to his own ancestral hometown to be accounted for.
4 So Joseph went from the Galilean town of Nazareth up to Bethlehem in Judah, David's town, for the census. As a descendant of David, he had to go there.
5 He went with Mary, his fiancŽe, who was pregnant.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.