It is not known exactly who nobody outside the group (literally “none of the others”) may be, though the Good News Translation (see also New English Bible) understands them to be the non-Christian group. This conclusion receives support both from the context and from the observation that earlier (Luke 8.10) Luke changed the Markan Greek phrase “to those outside” (Mark 4.11) to “to the others.” There are certain complications in the phrase nobody … dared join them. This might imply that no one other than the believers could become a believer. This is obviously not true since in verse 14 Luke indicates clearly that more and more people were becoming Christians. Accordingly, in some languages this first clause in verse 13 may be translated as “nobody who was not a believer dared to pretend to be a believer when he was not.” On the other hand, this clause may refer to the fact that the believers met separately from other people and therefore could be rendered as “nobody who was not a believer sat with them.”

The connective even though may be rendered in some languages by an expression equivalent to “nevertheless.” The logical connection between the two clauses is not easy to represent accurately.

The people spoke highly of them is rendered in many languages as “the people spoke well of them” or “the people said the believers were good.”

In some instances, however, the expression the people must be more definitely identified, either by using “the nonbelievers” or “the people in Jerusalem” (as a designation of people in general in the area rather than the believers specifically).

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 .