So draws a conclusion from what precedes: since Paul has preached to them the Kingdom of God, he is not responsible if any of (them) should be lost. Note that the particle so should relate the first part of verse 26 to the first part of verse 25 rather than to the second sentence, which speaks of the people never seeing Paul again.

The verb translated solemnly declare is literally “testify,” but in the present passage it obviously has a very strong meaning, and the Good News Translation has attempted to bring this out (see Jerusalem Bible “I swear”). The closest equivalent in some languages is “I tell you strongly” or “I tell you with important words.”

The biblical idiom “I am pure from your blood” has been rendered by the Good News Translation as if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible. See the similar statement in 18.6. When used in this way, “blood” is equivalent to “death,” and so the phrase could be taken to mean “I am not responsible for your death.” However, since Paul is speaking of eternal death, the phrase is perhaps best rendered as in the Good News Translation: if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.

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 .