And (1) it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the (a) world should be (b) taxed.
(1) Christ, the son of God, taking upon himself the form of a servant, and making himself of no reputation, is poorly born in a stable: and by the means of Augustus, the mightiest prince in the world, (thinking nothing of it) has his cradle prepared in Bethlehem, as the prophets foretold.
(a) As far as the empire of the Romans stretched.
(b) That is, the inhabitants of every city should have their names recorded, and their goods rated at a certain value, that the emperor might understand how rich every country, city, family, and house was.