6:13a
where they presented false witnesses: The pronoun they probably refers again to the same people referred to by “they” in 6:12a.
presented: This word indicates that the men opposing Stephen had some men stand before the Sanhedrin to speak about Stephen. It also implies that those men had them stand because they wanted them to lie about Stephen. Here are some other ways to translate this word:
set up (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
put forward (New American Standard Bible)
false witnesses: The word witnesses refers to people who tell others what they personally know about a person or an event. The word false indicates that these men would lie about what they knew. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
lying witnesses
-or-
some people to lie
who said: The Greek is more literally “saying.” It introduces their lies about Stephen. These lies were told in court.
6:13b
This man: It is possible that these words were used to show that these false witnesses did not respect Stephen, because they did not refer to him by name. Most English versions just follow the literal Greek, but some English translations try to indicate disrespect in some way. For example:
This fellow (New International Version)
never stops speaking: This is an exaggeration. It means that (according to them) Stephen spoke a lot against “this holy place,” but these false witnesses exaggerated to try to make the leaders to do more against Stephen. Here is another way to translate it:
is always speaking
Many languages can translate the exaggeration and it has the correct meaning and force. Some languages must avoid the exaggeration for the correct meaning and force. For example:
is speaking
-or-
speaks much
this holy place: There is a textual issue here about the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as this:
(1) Some of the oldest manuscripts have the word this.
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
(2) Some of the oldest manuscripts do not have the word this. For example:
the holy place (God’s Word)
(Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because most English versions follow it.
holy place: These words probably refer to the Jewish temple. You should refer generally to the location, as the Berean Standard Bible and many other English versions do, because the speaker did not name the temple here.
holy: Here this word means “dedicated to God.” The city (or perhaps the temple) was separated from the rest of the world as a very special place where people could worship God. Consider how to translate this meaning.
the law: This refers to all the laws that God told Moses as a group. In some languages it is more natural to use the plural here. For example:
the Laws
In some languages it will be more clear to say which laws these are. For example:
the Laws ⌊of Moses⌋
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