As in many others instances, receive the Holy Spirit must be translated as “have the Holy Spirit come on you” or “have the Holy Spirit control you.”

The particle translated when you believed means, as the New English Bible and Jerusalem Bible have it, “when you became believers,” that is, when you became Christians.

For stylistic reasons one may, in English, employ expressions such as asked them, they answered, Paul asked, and Paul said, either preceding or following the direct discourse. In some languages, however, all such expressions which signal direct discourse must occur preceding what is said. In other languages they normally follow, and in still other languages there may be an expression which precedes and another which follows every direct discourse. Obviously, in every receptor language one must adjust to the norms of such usage.

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 .