When they recognized him involves a Greek verb tense which describes a process of gradual recognition on the part of the people in the temple. Recognized, particularly in this type of context, may be rendered in some languages as “came to know,” “saw who he was,” or “saw and knew he was the beggar.”

The phrase temple’s “Beautiful Gate” may be rendered in some languages as the “Beautiful Doorway to the house of God.”

No real distinction between the two Greek words translated surprise and amazement can be made. In many languages surprise and amazement are expressed by idiomatic phrases, for example, “they no longer sat with intelligence in their hearts,” “they no longer could think,” “their minds had been grabbed,” or “their mouths were shut.”

The relation between the amazement and what had caused it may need to be expressed as a relation of cause and effect, for example, “they were amazed because of what had happened to the lame man,” or, as in some languages, “what had happened to the lame man caused them to be amazed.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .