Beating with wooden rods was a form of punishment used by the Romans (see Acts 16.37). To make clear that the beatings in verse 25 were by Romans and not by Jews, Good News Translation adds “by the Romans” (likewise Moffatt, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). But Good News Translation as it stands risks losing the fact that a different instrument was used in this beating, especially since “whipped” implies that a flexible whip was used rather than a rod or stick. This distinction, however, may be easily preserved by saying something like “the Romans beat me with sticks three times” (compare Contemporary English Version).

I was stoned in contemporary American English means that one was drunk or experiencing the hallucinating effects of drugs. This is clearly not the meaning of the text. Hence New Revised Standard Version says “I received a stoning” (see Acts 14.19). The passive formulation will have to be made active in many languages. But since the agent of this action is not known, one may say “some people threw stones at me in order to kill me” or “my enemies stoned me” (Contemporary English Version).

I have been shipwrecked: in an attempt to translate this English passive verb actively, Good News for the World says “Three times I was in a boat when it broke in the sea” But this may be misunderstood to mean that the same boat was wrecked each time. In those languages where the passive presents difficulties, one may say “I have been in three different ships that broke up in the sea.”

A night and a day translates a compound word in Greek consisting of the words “night” and “day.” Good News Translation provides a more natural rendering in English, “twenty-four hours” (so also Revised English Bible). However, it may be more natural in the receptor language to follow the more literal rendering instead of counting the hours. In some languages there is a specific term that refers to a twenty-four hour period.

I have been adrift at sea: literally “I have done [night and day] in the deep.” The idea is that Paul was actually in the water, probably holding on to some piece of the wrecked ship. Some may therefore want to translate “one time I had to spend all day and night in the water.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .