Even though “death” is a legitimate translation of the word used here, it seems too colorless and meaningless to suit the present context, which demands the meaning of murder (so also New English Bible).

Approved may be rendered as “agreed that the murder was right” or “agreed that Stephen should have been killed.” In some languages the approval is expressed by “said yes to the murder” or “his heart was good because they had killed Stephen.” (In such a context “good” would refer only to the feeling in the person’s heart, not to his behavior.)

Chapter 8 consist of three principal sections. The first (vv. 1b-3) serves a transition, since it relates what happened in Chapter 7 to a more general persecution, and highlights the role of Saul. The statement on persecution also forms an appropriate reason for the preaching of the gospel in Samaria (note how the account of the scattering of the believers is picked up in v. 4).

The second section, which deals with the preaching in Samaria, concentrates on the work of Philip, but then shifts to Peter and John. Philip is again the center of attention in the third section of Chapter 8 (vv. 26-40) which tells the story of Philip meeting the Ethiopian official.

That very day renders a corresponding emphatic expression in the Greek sentence structure.

The phrase suffer cruel persecution may simply be rendered as “suffered very much,” but it is important to emphasize intensity of the “persecution,” for example, “suffered because people were treating them very badly.”

In order to make the subject of the verb scattered explicit, the Good News Translation has expanded all to all the believers (see Phillips “all Church members”). Throughout the provinces is a difficult expression, but the basic idea seems to be the country regions as opposed to the city regions (see Jerusalem Bible and New English Bible “country districts”).

A term for scattered must of course be applicable to people, not merely to things. Therefore, a rendering which is often employed is “were caused to flee.”

The phrase except the apostles must apply to the activity of fleeing, not to believing. In some languages this can only be done by a positive and negative expression, for example, “all the believers were caused to flee…; only the apostles didn’t flee.”

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 .