The first phrase with great power probably typifies not only the activity of the apostles but also the effect of their witness upon the people. This may be rendered in some languages as “in a powerful way” or “by showing great power.” In other languages this may be equivalent to “very strongly.”

A nominalized expression such as gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus may need to be shifted into a verbal form in a number of languages, for example, “witnessed that the Lord Jesus had risen from the dead,” or in the form of direct discourse “announced to the people, The Lord Jesus has risen from the dead.”

In the expression “great grace was upon them all” the grace referred to is probably God’s grace; for this reason the Good News Translation has translated God poured rich blessings on them all. On the other hand, if the reference is to the attitude of the people toward the believers, the translation of the New English Bible may be followed: “they were all held in high esteem” (see also Jerusalem Bible “they were all given great respect”).

The expression poured rich blessings is quite figurative, though it may not seem to be so in English. In many languages it must be rather radically altered, for example, “God showed great favor to them all,” “God was exceedingly good to them all,” or “God blessed them all very much.”

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 .