Exegesis:

periapsantōn de pur en mesō tēs aulēs kai sugkathisantōn ‘after they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and (after) they had sat down together.’ Genitive absolute without a subject, which is to be supplied from v. 54.

periaptō ‘to kindle,’ ‘to light.’

sugkathizō lit. ‘to sit down together with somebody else,’ here ‘to sit down together as a group.’

ekathēto ho Petros mesos autōn ‘Peter sat down among them.’ mesos does not mean that Peter sat in the centre of the group but is used in a more general meaning, i.e. ‘among.’

Translation:

Kindled a fire, or, ‘caused-to-burn/flame/blaze a fire,’ ‘laid/made a fire’ (Nieuwe Vertaling, Sranan Tongo), ‘caused-to-live/grow a fire’ (Tae’).

The courtyard. The closest cultural equivalent often is the term for an open space in front of, or around the house, which, though not enclosed by buildings, walls or porches, is part of the premises. A rendering suggesting a room under the roof of the house should be avoided.

Sat down is ingressive aspect, but sat describes the resulting situation. A more specific verb may be required by local custom, e.g. ‘squatted’ (Batak Toba); cf. also on 2.46.

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.