I did not disobey the vision is an emphatic way of saying “I obeyed the vision.” In many languages, however, it is quite misleading to talk about did not disobey. The double negative will be misunderstood in many instances as merely an emphatic expression for “disobey.” Therefore it may be much better to employ a strong positive “I certainly obeyed the vision.”

The vision I had from heaven (literally “the heavenly vision”) is a reference to the heavenly being who appeared to Paul. For Paul this was a decisive fact; it was impossible for him to disobey the command from heaven. In some languages it is difficult to speak of a vision coming from heaven. Rather, one must employ some such wording as “the vision of a person who came from heaven” or “the vision of one who came from heaven.”

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 .