The news about this reached the church in Jerusalem is literally “the word about these things was heard in the ears of the church in Jerusalem.” (It is also possible to interpret the Greek pronoun autōn as “these people,” but this interpretation is less widely held.) This is another example where “word” is used with an extended meaning (see 1.1), and the entire sentence construction reflects Semitic thought patterns. In many languages, however, one cannot speak about news … reaching. Rather, one must say “the people in the church in Jerusalem heard about what had happened in Antioch.”

Barnabas now shares the same role in Antioch as Peter and John shared in Samaria (8.14).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .