The syntactic structure of verses 19 and 20 is somewhat complex. The clause so that he will wipe away your sins (v. 19b) is the direct purpose of “repenting and turning to God.” There is, however, an additional purpose, namely, the content of verse 20 which is divided into two parts: (1) the coming of the times of spiritual strength and (2) the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. In a number of languages it is necessary to divide verses 19 and 20. Otherwise, the purpose expressed in verse 20 is dependent upon “the wiping away of sins.” In reality, the two parts expressed in verse 20 are dependent upon the total experience represented by verse 19. In order to show the appropriate relation between these, the first part of verse 20 may repeat the repentance and turning to God expressed in verse 19, for example, “do that so that the times of spiritual strength may come….”
The term repent should focus upon the significant change in one’s attitude. This is here reinforced by the verb turn to. Under these circumstances repent can be related to the experience of sin, while the turning can be the positive response to God. Such a phrase can therefore be translated as “then repent from your sins and turn to God.”
Due to the psychological factors involved in “repentance” a number of different idioms may be employed, for example, “turn your back on your sins,” “give up your sins,” or “change your heart about sin.”
In a number of languages turn to God is rendered as “return to God.” This does not presuppose that these people were formerly reconciled to God, but simply that being “with God” is regarded as the natural or appropriate relation which man should have with his creator, and therefore “return” seems to be a widespread usage.
So that he will wipe away your sins represents the Greek expression “so that your sins may be wiped away,” but the Greek reflects a Semitic construction in which the subject of the passive voice is recognized as being God.
As noted also in other contexts, expressions for “forgiveness” are quite varied. Here wipe away is paralleled by a number of different expressions, for example, “erase your sins,” or “cause your sins not to appear.” On the other hand, some languages shift the focus to a state of “innocence,” such as “cause you to be innocent” or “cause you to have no guilt.”
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 .