16:17a

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And loosely connects 16:17a to 16:16, especially to 16:16a. Many English versions do not use a conjunction here, but it does not connect very naturally with the idea of people being condemned in 16:16b. The God’s Word gives one way to translate this verse without a conjunction:

These are the miraculous signs that will accompany believers (God’s Word)

these signs will accompany those who believe: In this context the phrase signs will accompany those who believe indicates that the people who believe in the good news about Jesus will be able to do miracles. These miracles will show that what they say is true. In some languages it may not be natural to talk about signs accompanying people. You may need to use a different verb. For example:

And those who believe will be able to do these things as proof (New Century Version)
-or-
Believers will be given the power to perform miracles (Good News Bible)

these signs: The phrase these signs refers specifically to the list of miraculous signs in 16:17–18. These miracles are evidence or proof to others that what the believers are saying about Jesus and the good news is true. It shows that the Lord approves of the message because he has allowed them to use his power to do miracles.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

miracles (Good News Bible)
-or-
these wonderful things/acts

See how you translated the word sign in 8:11b.

believe: Here the word believe has the same meaning as in 16:16a. It means “believe/trust in Jesus and the good news about Jesus.”

See also believe, Meaning 1 & 2, in the Glossary.

16:17b

In My name: The phrase In My name indicates the way that believers will be able to do the miraculous signs in 16:17–18. They will do them by means of the power and authority that Jesus has and that he will give to them. That is, believers will be able to do each of the signs in 16:17–18 “in the name” of Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to repeat this idea for each one of these signs. See the General Comment on 16:17b–18c at the end of 16:18c for an example.

Here are some other ways to translate In My name:

They will use the power and authority of my name (God’s Word)
-or-
by my power/authority
-or-
I will help them to…
-or-
I will give them power to…

See how you translated the similar phrase “in Your name” in 9:38b.

they will drive out demons: This is the first of the signs that believers will perform in Jesus’ name. When demons are troubling people, believers will force the demons to leave those people and stop troubling them. See how you translated drive out demons in 3:15 and 9:38b.

demons: The word demons refers to evil spirits. See evil spirit in the Glossary.

16:17c

they will speak in new tongues: The phrase they will speak in new tongues indicates that believers will be able to speak languages that they did not speak before. The context implies that Jesus will cause them to be able to speak these languages as a miraculous sign. This probably implies that they will be able to speak them without studying to learn them. See Acts 2:1–10. The God’s Word has another way to translate this clause:

They will speak new languages. (God’s Word)

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