Peter feels as if it is necessary (must of the Good News Translation translates here the same word as had to translates in verse 16) for someone from their larger group to join the group of the apostles and to assume the place Judas held. Must join us is often rendered as “must become one of us,” “must become one with us,” or “must become one of our group.”

The nominal phrase a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus may need to be shifted to a verbal expression, for example, “who will witness to the people that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead.” In some languages this must even be put into a form of direct discourse, for example, “say to the people, We know that the Lord Jesus arose from the dead.”

During the whole time that the Lord Jesus traveled about with us translates the Greek phrase “during the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us.” “To go in and out among” is simply a Semitic idiom meaning “to live or be with someone.”

The Greek expression “from the baptism of John” is translated by the Good News Translation from the time John preached his baptism. The phrase itself can have more than one interpretation, and may have reference either to the time when John began his ministry (as Good News Translation) or else to the time that Jesus was baptized by John. The parallel account in 10.37 tends to support the TEV interpretation.

The expression of duration of time, for example, beginning from the time … until the day is not always easy. In some languages one can only represent this as a continuous event, for example, “he must have been with us when John was preaching about his baptism and he must have remained with us until the day Jesus….”

As noted above (v. 9), the passive expression was taken up may have to be shifted to an active, for example, “God took Jesus up.” (See also 1.2a and 1.9.)

In the choice of a word for Lord it is important to avoid a mere title of respect. Rather, one should have some expression which will indicate the power to command and the corresponding obligation to obey, for example, “our chief,” or “the one who orders us.”

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 .