In many languages the expression of his name is extremely difficult to render since there is no use of “name” as a substitute symbol for the personality. Therefore, the closest equivalent of the power of his name is “his power.” Some persons may insist that in this instance the meaning is “the power which results from speaking the name of Jesus.” This however, would tend toward an interpretation involving “word magic.” This first sentence of verse 16 may be translated as “It was Jesus’ power which caused this lame man to be strong.” The cause-and-effect relation may need to be more specific in some languages and can be rendered as “because Jesus was powerful this lame man was given strength.”

There is an ambiguity in the expression by faith in his name, since the faith may be that of the lame man or that of the apostles. In many languages one cannot be so ambiguous but must specify whether this faith was experienced by the lame man or by Peter and John. If one assumes that it is the faith of the lame man, one can translate “What you have seen and know happened because this man believed in Jesus.” If, however, one interprets the faith as being that of Peter and John, an appropriate rendering may be, “What you see and know happened because we two believed in Jesus.” The phrase in his name may also have the meaning “through his name,” and so refer to the faith awakened in the man by the name of Jesus (see New English Bible “And the name of Jesus, by awakening faith, has strengthened this man”).

Any term for faith or “belief” must imply more than mere intellectual assent to the existence of some one or some thing. There must be some measure of “trust” or “confidence.” In many languages this is translated as “to lean on,” “to depend on,” or “to hang on to with the heart.” Mere intellectual acknowledgment of the truth of a proposition is certainly not what is meant in this type of context.

The second sentence of verse 16 consists of two clauses which are to some extent “mirror images” of each other. Essentially the same fact is stated twice in order to make it more emphatic. In both instances it is the faith in Jesus which is the cause (or instrument), the process is the healing, and in one instance the result is described in terms of what you see and know, and in the second instance as well like this before you all.

In some languages an expression such as before you all must simply be rendered as “and you can see it for yourselves.” It is not essentially a matter of the place where the event occurred, but the fact that it was visible to all concerned.

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 .