2:38a

Repent: This word refers to feeling grief about something he or she has done. Here it refers to them being sorry for their past sins against God and admitting they were wrong.

Here are some other ways to translate Repent here:

Change your thinking/mind/heart
-or-
Reject your sins

In some languages, you may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:

Turn from sin to God
-or-
Leave your sinning behind

be baptized: The clause is passive. Some languages must use a clause that is not passive. For example:

⌊let us
(excl)⌋ baptize you(plur)
-or-
undergo baptism

baptized: This word means “purify people with a special ritual that uses water.” Here people were purified from their sins. They were not washed to remove dirt. Baptism was an initiation that marked the beginning of a person’s life as one of God’s people.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

ritually washed
-or-
initiated in/with water
-or-
immersed in water for God
-or-
sprinkled/showered with God’s initiation water

• Use a word or phrase for a similar ritual that is already used in your culture. You may need to indicate that here it has a special connection with God. For example:

purify people with God’s ceremonial bath
-or-
wash people in initiation water for God

• Use a word or phrase that is already accepted by the local churches. In some areas this word or phrase may have been borrowed from the national language or transliterated from Greek or English.

Churches use different ways to baptize people. Choose a word or phrase that is acceptable to the different churches in your area.

See how you translated this word in 1:5.

every one of you: Peter wanted every person in the crowd to repent and be baptized.

in the name of Jesus Christ: This phrase indicates that by being baptized, new believers identified themselves with Jesus as the Christ. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

as followers of Jesus Christ
-or-
as a sign that you now follow Jesus Christ

Christ: Here the word Christ is used as a title. It is not just one of Jesus’ names. See how you translated this word in 2:31b.

2:38b

for the forgiveness of your sins: The word for introduces the purpose or aim of repenting and being baptized. People needed to repent and be baptized so that they would receive forgiveness of sins. In some languages it may be necessary to translate the noun forgiveness as a verb. For example:

so that your sins will be forgiven (Good News Translation)
-or-

in order that ⌊God⌋ will forgive your sins

forgiveness of your sins: Here this phrase means that God chooses not to punish a person for the evil things that he has done and thought. God cancels his guilt and treats him as though he had never done those evil things. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

canceling your sins
-or-
release from your sins
-or-
taking away of your sins

In some languages it may be necessary to translate the noun forgiveness with a verb. Here are some ways to do that:

pardon sins
-or-
cancel sins

In many languages there may be an idiom for this. For example:

erase guilt
-or-
wiping away sins

In some languages it is more natural to say “forgive people,” rather than to “forgive sins.” For example:

forgive ⌊people⌋ for their sins

sins: This word refers to wrongdoings against God or another person. They include acts, thoughts, and attitudes that are not what God wants or approves. A person can also be wrong before God by not doing what God wants him to do.

Translate sins with a word or phrase that can include any wrongdoing against God. Here are problems to avoid:

The word or phrase should not imply that only serious crimes like murder or stealing are sins. Other wrongdoing like gossip and greed are also sins.

The word or phrase should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.

Here are some ways to translate this word:

wrong acts
-or-
offenses against God
-or-
-evil deeds

In some languages it may be natural to translate sins with a phrase that includes a verb. For example:

wrong things that you have done

2:38c

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit: God is the implied giver, and the gift is the Holy Spirit himself, not what the Holy Spirit enables people to do. Here is another way to translate this clause:

⌊God⌋ will give to you the Holy Spirit

See how you translated “received” in 2:33b.

Holy Spirit: See how you translated the phrase Holy Spirit in 1:2 or 2:33.

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