The statement the word of God continued to spread (literally “the word of God increased”) means that the preaching of the Good News was successful in winning more and more people to the Christian faith. The expression the word … spread must be semantically restructured in many languages since one cannot speak of “a word” or “message” spreading, particularly when referring to the acceptance of such a message. The equivalent of this clause in some languages is “more and more people believed the word of God” or even “more and more people heard and believed the word from God.”

Disciples again is used in the sense of “believers.”

Apart from other considerations, the text would indicate that the great number of priests who accepted the faith must have come from Jerusalem; but it is possible that some may have come from Qumran and other Jewish communities. From all indications there were about 18,000 priests and Levites in Palestine during this time, 8,000 of whom were priests. Accepted the faith is literally “were obedient to the faith”; and in this context the word faith may be taken as practically synonymous with “the Good News.” For a similar use of the faith in Acts see 13.8; 14.22; 16.5.

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 .