If it comes from God should be rendered in a form somewhat parallel to the corresponding expression in verse 38, for example, “if it is God who has commanded this,” “if it is God who has helped them,” or “if God is the one who gives them power.” Only rarely can one employ a pronoun such as it to refer to this plan and work of theirs. Furthermore, it is difficult in most languages to speak of an event as “coming.”

The equivalent of you could find yourselves fighting against God is in some languages “you would see that you are fighting God” or “you would come to know that you are trying to defeat God.”

Followed Gamaliel’s advice may be rendered as simply “did what Gamaliel said” or “decided that what Gamaliel said was right.”

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 .