Luke 2:3

Καὶ ἐπορεύοντο πάντες ἀπογράφεσθαι, ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πόλιν.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 4198; eporeuonto; ἐπορεύοντο; they were leading across; V-IIM/P-3P

Strongs 3956; pantes; πάντες; all; Adj-NMP

Strongs 583; apographesthai; ἀπογράφεσθαι; to be written off/formally charged/enrolled; V-PNM/P

Strongs 1538; hekastos; ἕκαστος; each; Adj-NMS

Strongs 1519; eis; εἰς; into; Prep

Strongs 3588; tēn; τὴν; the; Art-AFS

Strongs 1438; heautou; ἑαυτοῦ; his own self; RefPro-GM3S

Strongs 4172; polin; πόλιν; city; N-AFS

RBT Hebrew Literal:

And they were journeying across, everyone, to be indicted,^2b each one into the City of his own self.

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And all went to be enrolled, each in his own city.

LITV Translation:
And all went to be registered, each to his own city.

ESV Translation:
And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

Footnotes

2b

The aorist middle infinitive ἀπογράψασθαι derives from ἀπογράφω, whose primary Classical meaning is “to write off,” “to copy,” or “to transcribe.”

In the middle voice, it means “to have a copy made (for oneself).” See LSJ, s.v. ἀπογράφω,

I. In extended administrative usage (II), it came to mean “to register,” “to enroll,” or “to declare property,” especially in bureaucratic and census contexts.

In Attic legal language (III), it also means “to indict” or “to enter a person’s name in a formal accusation,” with the middle and passive forms indicating participation in or subjection to legal proceedings.

This use of ἀπογράφω as a legal term meaning “to indict” or “to register a formal accusation” is firmly attested in Classical Athenian law, and thus predates the time of the New Testament by several centuries.