The initial question of verse 52 is obviously rhetorical, for Stephen is not asking for any information. It is, therefore, necessary in a number of languages to render this as an emphatic statement, for example, “your ancestors persecuted every prophet” or “there was not one prophet that your ancestors did not cause to suffer.”

Who long ago announced has been expanded by the addition of God’s messengers, since the context makes it clear that those who announced the coming of his righteous Servant were the messengers whom God had sent. His righteous Servant (literally “the righteous one”) is without doubt used here as a technical term referring to the Savior whom God had promised he would send. The same expression is used of Jesus in 3.14 and 22.14. In the former of these passages it is translated holy and good, while in the latter passage it is rendered righteous Servant, as in the present passage. Inasmuch as the name appears to identify Jesus with the servant of God in the Old Testament (see 3.13), the Good News Translation has sought to maintain that identity by translating righteous Servant both in the present passage and in 22.14.

In this context, righteous refers to one who does what God requires. This is somewhat more, therefore, than mere “good behavior” and can be rendered by the same expression used for righteous in a number of contexts, for example, “God’s servant who does what he requires.”

As is frequently done in the Good News Translation, nouns that contain verbal ideas have here been translated as verbs: “you became betrayers and murderers” appears as you have betrayed and murdered him.

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 .