The language of this verse is drawn from Old Testament passages such as Deuteronomy 29.17b and Isaiah 58.6. The Good News Translation understands “gall of bitterness” in the sense of bitter envy; but others, in light of the fact that in Deuteronomy the phrase is connected with idolatry, refer this specifically to heathen worship: “bitterness like gall which godless worship brings” (Barclay). The interpretation of this particular phrase is also related to the overall understanding of the verse, since the Greek preposition with which the verse begins may mean either “in” or “into.” Most translations accept the same conclusions of the Good News Translation: you are full of (that is, “in”) bitter envy, and are a prisoner of sin (see Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Jerusalem Bible, Phillips, Zürcher Bibel, Moffatt). Others understand the phrase to mean “I see you are a prisoner of sin and headed for” (that is, “into”) “a bitter fate” (see New English Bible and Barclay).

The phrase full of bitter envy is especially difficult to translate in a number of languages. In the first place, full of must usually be rendered as “being very envious.” The term bitter is not so much a description of envy itself as the effect which envy has upon the individual who is envious. On the other hand, it may refer to the intensity of envy or its evil nature.

The phrase prisoner of sin is equivalent to “being made a prisoner by sin” or “sin makes you its prisoner.” However, in many languages one cannot employ a term such as sin, which refers to an event, as the agent of causing someone to be a prisoner. There is a causal relationship and therefore one can say in some languages “because of your sin you are a prisoner” or “because of your sin you are tied like a prisoner.”

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 .