A very strong wind is in some languages “a very fast wind” or “a wind which makes large waves.”

This wind that blew down from the island was so well known that the sailors had given it a proper name, and this has been rendered by Northeaster. The equivalent of Northeaster is, in some languages, “a wind from the northeast” or “a wind that blows from the left of the rising sun.”

From the island is literally “from it,” a reference to the island of Crete. In some instances it is necessary to make some adaptation in the expression blew down from the island, since seagoing persons would soon recognize that a wind which only came from an island would not be strong enough to cause a great storm. Therefore, an expression such as “blew down across the island” would be necessary.

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 .