In Greek the subject of the verb presented is not explicit, as the Good News Translation has made it, but obviously the entire congregation is referred to. Neither is the subject of prayed and placed their hands on them explicit in the Greek; the apostles may be the subject (as Good News Translation, New English Bible, Moffatt, Phillips), or the entire congregation may be taken as the subject. Some translations (see Revised Standard Version, Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation*) have left the text ambiguous. Although the Jerusalem Bible has left the text ambiguous, the translators have given a footnote: “possibly a gesture of the community, cf. 13.1-3; more probably (v. 3) of the apostles.”

The laying of hands was a gesture taken over by the Christian community from the Jewish community. It symbolized not only the giving of a responsibility but, what is more important, the imparting of strength and of the community’s blessing.

It may be necessary to specify where the hands were placed, in which case one may say “placed on their heads.” Notice, however, that in many instances this type of distributive meaning must be rendered with care. A plural “heads” might imply that each person had more than one head. Therefore, in some languages one must say “placed their hands upon each person’s head.”

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 .