For the translation how God had blessed the people (literally “the grace of God”) see 4.33 and 6.8. The translation of blessed poses a number of problems in some languages. In general, however, it is equivalent to “God had been good to the people,” “God had shown favor to the people,” or “God had caused good to the people.”

On the relationship between the meaning of the name Barnabas and the verb urged see 4.36.

To be faithful and true to translates a verb which literally means “to remain” or “to stay with.” Here, of course, it is used in the sense “to remain faithful and/or true to.” It is difficult to find two such terms as faithful and true. These are essentially synonymous expressions in English and simply reinforce the idea of the original text. It is equivalent in many languages to “remain loyal to,” “follow steadfastly with,” or even “not give up obeying.”

With all their hearts translates an expression which may be taken to mean either determination (“with resolute hearts” New English Bible) or devotion (“with heartfelt devotion” Jerusalem Bible). An expression such as with all their hearts may simply be attributive to the previous expression, for example, “being completely loyal to” or “never once ceasing to follow.”

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 .