He went to Jerusalem and greeted the church is literally “he went up and greeted the church.” Although Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Greek, the verb “go up” is regularly used of going (up) to Jerusalem, and for that reason a number of translators and commentators believe that Jerusalem is the object of Paul’s journey here. This theory is strengthened by the observation that in the next clause Luke merely says that Paul went to Antioch. There is no mention, in this latter instance, of any greeting to the church.

Among the translations that include Jerusalem are Phillips, Twentieth Century New Testament, Luther, C. B. Williams, An American Translation*; also see Jerusalem Bible and Zürcher Bibel, which give an explanatory note indicating that Jerusalem is intended. The Antioch referred to is Antioch in Syria.

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 .