Since Rhoda’s announcement in verse 14 may very well be in direct discourse, “Peter is standing outside,” it may be necessary to modify the verb of speaking referring to the response of the people, “they answered her,” “they responded to her,” or “they replied.”

You are crazy! captures both the spirit and the meaning of the people’s response to Rhoda’s statement. She insisted that it was true may be rendered as “she kept saying that Peter was really there.”

Among certain of the Jews it was believed that each individual had a spiritual counterpart, who could appear if the person were alive or dead, and this was known as his angel.

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 .