3:22a

who has gone into heaven: Jesus Christ went into heaven forty days after he came alive from the dead. This is described in Acts 1:1–10.

heaven: The word heaven here refers to the dwelling place of God, outside our universe. Some other ways to translate this word are:

the place of God
-or-
the place where God lives

and is at the right hand of God: Peter did not say whether Jesus was standing or sitting at God’s right hand. If it is necessary for you to make this explicit, it is recommended that you supply the information that he is seated (see Ephesians 1:20 and Colossians 3:1). For example:

and is ⌊sitting/seated⌋ at God’s right hand

right hand: This was the most important position in Jewish culture, but in other cultures the left side is the more important. If neither side is more important in your culture, you could translate right hand as:

the place of ⌊highest⌋ honor

3:22b

with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him: In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a separate clause with its own verb:

and angels, authorities and powers submit to him

angels, authorities, and powers: The phrase angels, authorities, and powers includes all supernatural beings, whether good or bad.

angels: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as angels means “messengers.” It refers here to spirit beings who serve God. Sometimes God sends an angel to tell a message to human beings. He also sends angels to serve him in other ways. Some ways to translate this term are:

• Use a descriptive word or phrase. For example:

messengers ⌊from God/heaven⌋
-or-

⌊good/holy⌋ spirit-beings

• Use a local term that fits the biblical meaning.

• In some areas the churches may already be using a borrowed term or a transliterated word for “angel.” Be sure that this term fits the biblical meaning. If some people do not understand the right meaning from this term, you may need to indicate the meaning in some way. For example:

an angelos messenger ⌊from God⌋
-or-
a sacred angelos spirit

Be sure that your term for “angel” is different from your terms for “prophet” and “apostle.”

authorities, and powers: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as authorities, and powers refers to supernatural forces that were believed to affect the lives of people. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

spirits ⌊in the sky⌋ who have authority and power
-or-
supernatural beings who have authority and power

subject to Him: The phrase subject to him here means “recognizing Christ’s authority”; that is, obeying him. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

under his control (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
ruling over all angels and heavenly authorities and powers (Good News Translation)

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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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