The pronoun they which begins verse 36 must, of course, refer to the Jews, not to the soldiers.

It is agreed among the commentators that the words “away with him” (so King James Version, Revised Standard Version) mean kill him (Good News Translation, Phillips, New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible). The imperative expression kill him is not directed to the soldiers. The Jews were not simply asking the Romans to kill him. Rather, it was a declaration of their own intent, and therefore in many languages must be rendered as “let us kill him” or “come, we must kill him.”

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 .