Exegesis:

ho nomos kai hoi prophētai mechri Iōannou lit. ‘the law and the prophets (were) until John.’ No connexion with what precedes or with what follows (vv. 17f) is indicated or suggested. ho nomos kai hoi prophētai is a well known phrase denoting the old covenant, or the Old Testament (cf. e.g. Acts 13.15; 28.23; Mt. 5.17). The clause states that the old covenant existed and had authority until John the Baptist.

apo tote hē basileia tou theou euaggelizetai ‘from then the (good news of the) kingdom of God has been preached.’ euaggelizetai in the present tense implies that the preaching has been going on and is still going on, cf. on 4.43. The emphasis is here on hē basileia tou theou as the new situation that exists since John the Baptist.

kai pas eis autēn biazetai ‘and everyone forces his way into it,’ i.e. everyone tried hard to enter it, in response to the proclaiming of the kingdom.

biazomai here ‘to enter forcibly,’ ‘to force one’s way into.’

Translation:

The law and the prophets, or, ‘what is written in the law and the books of the prophets,’ ‘the law and the words of the prophets,’ ‘what the law commands and the prophets say.’ For law see 2.22.

Were until John, or, ‘up to the time J. came,’ not including the time of John’s ministry. A more specific rendering of the verb may be necessary, e.g. ‘were preached’ (Fulah), ‘were important to believe/obey’ (Tzeltal), ‘were valid.’

Since then, or, ‘beginning at that moment’ (Toraja-Sa’dan).

The good news of the kingdom of God is preached, see on 4.43. The passive has probably been used here to leave the agent ambiguous, but where an active construction is required and the translator is compelled to name an agent, it is probably best to say, ‘I preach the good news….’

Enters it violently. The pronoun refers to the ‘kingdom of God,’ but now taken in its locative sense; hence ‘fights to get into that place, or, into the place where God rules,’ and cf. ‘all people do great effort to enter God’s hand (i.e. in order that He rule them)’ (a San Miguel El Grande Mixtec dialect).

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.