The day of Pentecost (Greek pentecostē “the fiftieth [day]”) was the fiftieth day after Passover; it was the day the Jews celebrated the Feast of the Grain Harvest (see Exodus 23.16; 34.22; Leviticus 23.15-21; and Deuteronomy 16.9-12). It is important to have a marginal note at this point to explain what Pentecost is. In the text, one can employ a phrase such as “day which was called Pentecost,” or “day which was called fifty days after,” but this latter type of expression is rarely acceptable.

All the believers represents the Greek word all which may refer either to all the Christians or merely to all the apostles. Most translations choose to make this ambiguous, whereas the Good News Translation has made it explicit, that is, the total Christian community. In a number of languages one cannot employ a term such as “believers” without indicating the one in whom they believed, for example, “all those who believed in Jesus.” There may be in some languages a problem with the use of “all,” since this is obviously not an absolute “all.” Therefore, it may be necessary to say “all the believers there,” referring to the believers who were presumably associated with the group in Jerusalem.

In one place translates the Greek phrase which was discussed in 1.15; whereas it had one meaning in the earlier verse, it is obvious that it is used here in the sense of “at the same place.” The expression in one place is further expanded in verse 2 to indicate that this refers to a particular house. It may, therefore, be necessary to be somewhat more specific and indicate “in the same house.” Otherwise the reader may have the impression that it was the same town or the same land, since a general term such as “place” may not exist in the receptor language.

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 .

In verse 36 the emphatic element in the sentence is for sure (literally “surely” or “certainly” which occurs in 16.23, and is there translated tight). This final verse in the discourse unit, which begins at verse 14, summarizes the point which has been made about Jesus, whom the people crucified, but whom God has exalted. Note that this verse also assists in shifting the discourse from the quotation to the direct address to the crowd. In some languages, however, it is important to make this direct reference explicit by introducing “you,” for example, “all you people of Israel” (literally “house of Israel”).

The relatively heavy clause structure of this verse may require some breaking up of the syntactic units, but this must not be done at the price of sacrificing the relations between the parts. One can introduce Jesus as the emphatic element in the discourse and then make the two contrastive statements about him, for example, “know for sure that I am talking about this Jesus. You nailed him to the cross. But God has made him Lord and Messiah.”

In employing a causative at this point, such as “made him Lord,” it may be useful to employ a specifically applicable verb, for example, “named him” or “designated him.”

The term for Lord must be the same one as is normally used in speaking of Jesus. It must not be a mere title of respect, but something which indicates his authority to command. The term Messiah is probably best treated here as “his chosen one” or “his specifically designated one.”

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 .

This verse concludes a sentence which began in the Greek with verse 19. The Greek clause “whom it is necessary for heaven to keep” is meaningfully rendered by the Good News Translation he must remain in heaven.

The phrase until the time comes causes certain difficulties. An equivalent may be “until it happened that…” or “until the time when all things are made new.”

For all things to be made new is an expression which occurs only here in the New Testament (it translates a noun phrase, the verb form of which is rendered give … back in 1.6), and offers the possibility of two different interpretations: (1) it may mean that God will bring about all the things that he had spoken through the prophets concerning the person of Jesus Christ or (2) it may be a reference to God’s promise that he will make a restoration of the entire created order, as he had promised through his prophets (see “universal restoration” of the Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Phillips). The fact that this word is used in the papyri for the renewal or repair of temples and public places tends to support the latter interpretation.

Rather than the passive expression be made new, it is often necessary to use a phrase denoting “becoming,” for example, “until all things become new.” In some languages the semantic structure is so shifted as to employ a phrase such as “there is a new becoming-time for all things” or “the time God makes all things new.”

It may be useful to break the last clause of verse 21 into a separate sentence, for example, “This is just the way God announced it by means of his holy prophets of long ago.” As noted in several other instances, announced by means of may be variously expressed as “caused his holy prophets to speak,” “put the words into the prophets’ mouths,” or “caused the voices of the prophets to speak.”

The term holy in this type of context indicates “those dedicated to him” or even “those who served him.” The emphasis here is upon the prophets’ relation to God, not upon any quality of taboo which they might have.

In the translation of the phrase of long ago it is important to avoid the suggestion of “mythological time.” Some languages make a very clear distinction between “long ago” as referring to presumed historical events, and “long ago” when they mean mythological or even legendary events. It is important in this instance to maintain the historical perspective.

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 .

The transitional phrase and now shifts the attention from the historical event to the circumstances faced by the believers, for example, “but as for now” or “but as for our circumstances.” The expression take notice of may be rendered as “listen to.” The phrase the threats they made may be rendered in some languages as “how they have threatened us” or “how they have said, You will suffer.”

The expression allow us is not really a request for permission. It is far more a prayer for the strength to be able to do something, for example, “make it possible for us to speak” or “give us the strength to speak.” The words us, your servants are equivalent in many languages to “we who serve you.”

To speak your message translates an expression that has become a technical term for the early Christian missionary preaching. It is literally “to speak the word,” and may be accompanied by a variety of modifiers, such as “of God” (see v. 31), “of the Lord,” or “of the Good News,” that is, the good news about Jesus.

As in other contexts, an expression such as with all boldness can be rendered as either “without fear” or as “speaking everything plainly.”

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 .

The officer is the same word used in verse 24, the officer in charge of the temple guards.

Many languages are quite specific in the use of terms such as brought … back. In this context a rendering may be “caused them to return with them” or “commanded them to return with them.” The text clearly states that no physical force was used.

In order to indicate clearly that they did not use force, one may say in some languages “they did not grab them” or “they did not tie them up.” In other languages a common expression is “they did not beat them.”

It is important that in the final clause the goal of the stoning is the officer and the soldiers, not the apostles.

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 .

Although Stephen is not explicitly mentioned either in verse 1 or verse 2 of the Greek text, the Good News Translation has included his name in the translation in order to make it immediately evident to the reader whom the High Priest addressed and whose speech is given in the following verses.

The question Is this really so? may require some expansion so that the reference of the pronoun this may be clear, for example, “Is what these men have accused you of true?” or “Are these accusations against you true?” or “Did you say what these men claim you said?” What is, of course, important in the High Priest’s question is not the validity or truth of what Stephen had said, but whether Stephen himself was guilty of having made the statements.

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 .

Moses would have been wearing sandals rather than “shoes,” as most translators render the word. In the command take your sandals off the words “from your feet” have been omitted by Good News Translation as redundant for the English reader (see Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, An American Translation*). According to ancient oriental custom one was not permitted to wear shoes in or at a holy place.

The rendering of holy ground is not easy in some languages. One can readily speak of a person being holy, but holy ground is rather unusual. However, it can be rendered in many languages as “ground dedicated to God,” and in this context it would be “ground specially dedicated to me,” since God is speaking. In other languages the rendering may be “ground which is specially mine,” since anything possessed by God takes on this quality of “holiness.” In still other languages, of course, there is a term for positive taboo and one can readily speak of a location as being “taboo,” in the sense that it is so filled with spirit power that it requires special behavior on the part of those who are in it or nearby.

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 .

Philip is one of the seven (see 6.5).

Translations are divided as to whether Luke said the city of Samaria or “a city of Samaria” (New English Bible, Revised Standard Version). In New Testament times the Old Testament city of Samaria was known as Sebaste, and the word Samaria referred to the province; so by the expression the city of Samaria is meant the (main) city of Samaria, that is, Sebaste. The Samaritans, as the Jews, lived in the expectation of a coming Messiah; among the Samaritans he was known as Taheb, “one who restores.”

In this context the Good News Translation employs Messiah rather than “Christ,” since the former term applies specifically to Christ’s having been sent by God on a special mission. To introduce this distinction in some languages it is necessary to render Messiah as “the one specially sent by God.”

Though in English one may say preached the Messiah, this is rendered in many languages as “told the people about the Messiah.”

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 .