3:14a

He appointed twelve of them: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as appointed here literally means “made.” Jesus made twelve men his apostles. This indicates that Jesus “chose” or “selected” twelve of the disciples he had summoned to be apostles. For example:

Then he chose twelve of them (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Then he selected twelve of them (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

3:14b

whom He designated as apostles: There is a textual issue in this verse. In some Greek manuscripts, there is a clause that means “designating them apostles.”

(1) Most recent, major English versions follow the manuscripts that include this clause. For example, the God’s Word says:

14aHe appointed twelve 14bwhom he called apostles. 14cThey were to accompany him.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Bible, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, New Century Version, New Living Translation, New Revised Standard Version, NET Bible)

(2) Other English versions follow the manuscripts that do not include this clause. For example, the New Jerusalem Bible says:

14aand he appointed twelve; 14cthey were to be his companions

(Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), since it is supported by many of the earliest manuscripts. (The UBS4 follows option (1), giving it a C rating, indicating some degree of doubt. Although this reading has the support of some of the oldest and most reliable manuscripts, there is also strong reason to believe that copyists may have taken this phrase from Luke 6:13 and added it here. The Revised Standard Version and the New Jerusalem Bible no doubt omitted it because of its considerable degree of uncertainty. The addition could be explained based on a copyist’s tendency to want to harmonize and/or further clarify a text. (Based on UBS4 page 128, Metzger page 69, and EH page 69).)

However, if the major language version in your area followed option (2), it may be best to follow that option.

designated: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as designated is literally “named.” For example:

whom he named apostles (Good News Bible)

The Contemporary English Version has another way to translate this:

to be his apostles (Contemporary English Version)

apostles: The Greek word that English versions translate as apostles means “those who are sent.” It refers to people whom someone sends with authority to accomplish a mission or a particular task. Jesus chose twelve men to be his apostles.

Here are some other ways to translate apostle:

• Translate the meaning of the Greek word apostles. For example:

people sent to speak/act for him
-or-
special messengers
-or-
representatives

• Indicate the role or function of apostles. For example:

chief leaders of Jesus’ work
-or-
people who are in charge of Jesus’ work

Be careful to choose different terms for “apostle,” “angel,” “elder,” and “prophet.”

See also apostle in the Glossary.

3:14c

to accompany Him: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to accompany Him tells one of Jesus’ purposes in appointing the twelve disciples as apostles. He appointed them as apostles in order that they would follow him and learn from him.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

He wanted them to be with him (New Century Version)
-or-
They were to accompany him (God’s Word)

3:14d

to be sent out: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to be sent out introduces Jesus’ second purpose in appointing the apostles. Jesus’ plan was to tell the apostles to go to various villages. One way to say this is:

he might send them out to preach: Jesus sent out the disciples to do two things. The first thing was to preach. The word preach means to publicly tell people something important. In this context they were telling people the gospel.

Here are some other ways to translate to preach:

to announce
-or-
to proclaim

If your language needs to specify to whom the apostles would preach, you should supply a general term such as “people.” For example:

to preach to the people

If in your language you need to tell what the apostles would preach, it is recommended that you supply a general term like “good news.” For example:

to preach the good news
-or-
to spread [the Good News] (God’s Word)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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