16:32

Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord: The phrase the word of the Lord refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Paul and Silas told the message of the Lord (New Century Version)
-or-
they told the good news of the Lord ⌊Jesus⌋

to everyone in his house: The jailer, Paul, and Silas were outside the prison (16:30). Here the word in probably indicates that these people lived in the jailer’s house, not that the jailer, Paul, and Silas went to the jailer’s house at this time. The jailer takes them there in 16:34. For example:

with all who lived in his household (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
to all those living in his house

Another possibility is that the jailer, Paul, and Silas went to the house here, then they all left the house for Paul and Silas to baptize them (16:33), then the jailer took Paul and Silas to his house (again) in 16:34. But the first explanation seems simpler and more likely.

General Comment on 16:32

It is implied that the jailer and the people who lived in his house believed the gospel about Jesus. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly imply that they did not believe. If that is true in your language, indicate that they believed. For example:

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. ⌊And they all believed.⌋

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 17:24–28

17:24a–26d

Most Greek people would have been familiar with much of what Paul said here. Paul said these things so that the city council would know what he believed. He showed them that he spoke reasonably. He did not ridicule them or their beliefs.

17:24a

The God who made the world and everything in it: This phrase describes the one true God. The Greeks would have their own ideas about who this phrase referred to.

the world: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as world probably refers to the earth, sun, moon, planets, stars, and other things. For example:

the universe (God’s Word)
-or-
creation

But many English versions translate the Greek word as world.

everything in it: This phrase refers to plants, trees, animals, fish, birds, people, and other things. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

all things in and on it
-or-
all its contents

17:24b

is the Lord of heaven and earth: The Greek words are literally “this one, being Lord of heaven and earth.” It tells the reader more about God. For example:

being Lord of heaven and earth (Revised Standard Version)

Lord: This word means “the one in authority over others” or “master.” God rules over all things. See how you translated this word in 1:6 or 16:14.

heaven: Here the word heaven probably refers to the place where God lives. But it may include everything people can see in the sky as well.

17:24c

does not live in temples made by human hands: People built temples as places where they could worship their gods. Most Greek people would agree that their gods did not live in those temples. The same is true for the one true God. For example:

does not live in temples made by human hands (Good News Translation)

temples: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temples refers to buildings where gods are worshiped. A Greek temple usually had a statue of the god and an altar. Some languages do not have a word for this meaning. If that is true in your language, explain the meaning in your translation. For example:

houses of/for worship
-or-
worship houses/places

made by human hands: The word hands refers to people building temples. In some languages it is more natural to refer to people instead of hands. For example:

made by humans (God’s Word)

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

18:22a–b

he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch: The phrases went up and went down imply that Paul went to Jerusalem. In some languages a literal translation would not imply that Paul went to Jerusalem. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• include the implied information in your translation. For example:

he went up ⌊to Jerusalem⌋ and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch

• explain the implied information in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Caesarea is beside the sea, Jerusalem is up in the mountains, and Antioch is in the lowlands. The phrases “went up” and “went down” imply that Paul went to the believers in Jerusalem, then went to Antioch.

18:22a

When Paul had landed at Caesarea: The word landed indicates that the ship arrived in the port of Caesarea and the people left the ship and went onto the land. For example:

he arrived at Caesarea (Good News Translation)

Caesarea: This name is spelled Kaisareia in the Greek language. It was a city on the Mediterranean coast of the province of Judea. Romans ruled Judea. It was the Roman capital of the province.

he went up: Caesarea is on the sea coast, and Jerusalem is up in the mountains at about 760 meters (2,500 feet) in elevation. It is a journey of about 120 kilometers (75 miles). So Paul used the Greek verb that refers to going up in elevation. In some languages it is more natural not to use the word up. For example:

he went to Jerusalem (Good News Translation)

greeted the church at Jerusalem: This clause refers to Paul greeting the believers in Jerusalem, including the leaders. He probably also exchanged news and talked about topics important to the believers. But the clause does not say what he did beyond greeting them. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate or imply that Paul only greeted them and did not talk with them. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Include the implied information in your translation. For example:

greeted the church ⌊and talked with them⌋

• Explain the implied information in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Paul probably also talked with the believers and their leaders in Jerusalem. But he did not stay long.

greeted: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as greeted refers to the words used in greeting and the usual ritual of greeting in general. See how you translated it in Matthew 5:47, Mark 9:15, or Luke 1:40.

church: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as church refers to a gathering of people that someone summoned for a particular purpose. Here as almost always in the NT, it refers to groups of believers who follow Jesus Christ.

In the Bible this word never refers to church buildings. You also should not use a word like “denomination” that refers to a group of churches separate from other groups. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

congregation
-or-
the believers
-or-
the gathering of believers

See how you translated this word in 5:11 or 15:3.

18:22b

he went down to Antioch: This was a journey of about 530 kilometers (330 miles). Jerusalem is at an elevation of about 760 meters (2,500 feet). Antioch is at an elevation of about 75 meters (245 feet). Someone walking this journey would probably walk a day in the Judean hills, then half a day going downhill to the coastal plains, then ten or more days walking the coastal plains to Antioch. In some languages it is more natural not to use the word down. For example:

went to Antioch (Good News Translation)

Antioch: The city of Antioch was in the province of Syria. It was the end of Paul’s second journey. Paul had lived here before (11:26, 13:1).

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

19:26a

And: For these workers, 19:26 describes something upsetting to the workers. It comes after information they were very happy about. In some languages indicating contrast is more natural. For example:

But (New Living Translation (2004))

But in some languages introducing a new matter/subject is more natural. For example:

Now (Good News Translation)

In some languages a conjunction is not needed here.

in nearly the whole province of Asia: This refers to almost all of Asia. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

almost throughout all Asia (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
from almost every part/corner of the province of Asia

The Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase the…province of. At that time the name Asia referred to a region in what is now the western part of the country of Turkey. See how you translated this phrase in 19:22.

Paul: The Greek says more literally, “this Paul.” The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated indicates that Demetrius disliked Paul. If possible, indicate or imply the dislike. For example:

this Paul (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
this fellow Paul (New International Version)
-or-
this ⌊bad⌋ fellow Paul

has persuaded: This word refers to talking to someone in a way that the person listening changes what he thinks about something. Other ways to translate this word are:

has convinced (New International Version)
-or-
has succeeded in changing the minds (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

19:26b

a great number of people: This phrase in Greek is literally “a large crowd.” Here it refers to many people from Ephesus and many people from the province of Asia. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

large numbers of people (New International Version)
-or-
multitudes

to turn away: This phrase refers to taking someone to a bad place. Here it is used figuratively. Demetrius thought Christianity was bad and Paul caused people to turn away by teaching it and convincing them that it was true. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

pulled away
-or-
corrupted
-or-
made them follow bad ways

19:26c

He says: The Greek word is literally “saying.” It indicates that what Paul said here was one of the ways that he led people astray from the worship of Artemis.

man-made gods are no gods at all: This clause in Greek is literally “the things made with hands are not gods.” It refers to the shrines and such other things that people used when worshiping Artemis. The phrase “made with hands” indicates that people made them. Other ways to translate this clause are:

things made with hands cannot be gods
-or-
images/models that people make are not gods
-or-
what a person has made is not a true god
-or-
images made by men are not appropriate to worship
-or-
our worship of idols made by man is worthless

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 20:17–21

20:17

Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church: This clause indicates that Paul sent someone or a message to Ephesus to ask the elders to come and meet him at Miletus. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he sent ⌊a message⌋ for the elders of the church of Ephesus ⌊to come⌋
-or-
Paul sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him (Good News Translation)

elders: This word refers to leaders of the believers at a village, town or city. See how you translated the word elders at 15:2 or 16:4.

the church: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as church refers to a gathering of people that someone summoned for a particular purpose. Here, as almost always in the NT, it refers to groups of believers who believe in Jesus Christ.

In the Bible this word never refers to church buildings. You also should not use a word or a phrase, like “denomination” that refers to a group of churches separate from other groups. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

congregation
-or-
the believers ⌊who lived there⌋
-or-
the gathering of believers

See how you translated the word church in 5:11 or 18:22.

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

21:11a

he took Paul’s belt: Paul was probably wearing this belt. Agabus first untied Paul’s belt, then took it. In some languages it is more natural to include the implied information in your translation. For example:

he ⌊untied⌋ Paul’s belt and took it

belt: This kind of belt is a piece of cloth or leather about fifteen centimeters (six inches) wide. It was long enough to be wrapped around a person’s waist, probably two or more times. It was usually folded to a smaller width and then tied. It was used to hold a person’s garments closed and close to their body.

21:11b

bound his own feet and hands: The Greek words are literally “tied his own feet and hands.” It is more natural in English to say feet and hands. Translate in the order that is more natural in your language.

21:11c–e

The Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles.’: Agabus told Paul what the Holy Spirit said. In some languages it is more natural to use indirect speech. For example:

The Holy Spirit says that in this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles

21:11c

The Holy Spirit says: This clause in Greek is literally “the Holy Spirit says these (things).” The word “these” refers to the words of 21:11d–e. The plural “these” can also be translated as “this,” referring to the whole sentence. For example:

The Holy Spirit says this:
-or-
This is what the Holy Spirit says: (Good News Translation)

21:11d

In this way: This phrase indicates that Agabus tying his hands and feet together was similar to what the Jews would do to Paul. The events of 21:27–36 fulfilled this prophecy. The actions of the Jews caused him to become a prisoner of the Romans. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

like this (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
likewise
-or-
similarly

bind: This is the same Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “bound” in 21:11b. Here is another way to translate this:

tied up (Good News Translation)

21:11e

hand him over to the Gentiles: The Greek words are literally “will give/deliver (him) into the hands of the Gentiles/nations.” The Greek words and the English words refer to the Jewish leaders putting Paul under the power of the Romans. The Romans had the power to take him to court and decide if he had done wrong. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

will give him to those who are not Jews (New Century Version)
-or-
will put him in the hands of the Gentiles
-or-
will cause him to be under the power/authority of the nations

the Gentiles: The word Gentiles refers to non-Jewish people. Here it implies the Roman authorities (21:30–33). Other ways to translate this phrase are:

people who are not Jewish (God’s Word)
-or-
those who are not Jews (New Century Version)

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Paragraph 23:6

Paul stood before the Sanhedrin because the Roman commander wanted to know why the Jews were angry with him. However, in this paragraph, Paul caused the Sanhedrin to argue about whether or not God resurrects people who have died.

23:6a

Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees: The phrase knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees is added information as to why Paul called out as he did in 23:6c–d. In some languages this information needs to be in a separate sentence. For example:

Paul knew that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees. So he

some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees: There were two groups in the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Sadducees disagreed with the Pharisees about a number of things regarding the Jewish religion.

Sadducees: The Sadducees were a group of Jews who believed that the first five books of the Old Testament were the only proper word of God. Spell the word “Sadducee” according to the sounds of your language. You may also want to:

• Indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:

Sadusi members
-or-
Saduce adherents

• Explain in your translation that they have certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Sadusi ⌊religious⌋ group
-or-
the ⌊conservative⌋ ⌊Jewish⌋ group called Saduse

• Explain who they are in a footnote. An example footnote is:

The Sadducees were a group of Jews who believed that the first five books of the Old Testament were the only proper word of God. They were rich and politically powerful.

See how you translated this word in 4:1.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were a group of Jews who believed that the whole Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) was the word of God. Spell the word “Pharisee” according to the sounds of your language. You may also want to:

• Indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:

Farisi members
-or-
Farise adherents

• Explain in your translation that they have certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Farisi ⌊religious⌋ group
-or-
the ⌊Jewish⌋ group called Farise

• Explain who they are in a footnote. An example footnote is:

The Pharisees were a group of Jews who believed that the whole Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) was the word of God. They thought it very important to follow God’s Law. They added extra rules and traditions so that people would not even come close to disobeying the Law of God.

See how you translated this word in 5:34.

23:6b

called out: Here this phrase means “spoke loudly.” Paul wanted all seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin to hear him, so he spoke loudly. It does not imply anger. For example:

shouted (New Living Translation (2004))

in the Sanhedrin: Here this phrase means “to the members of the Sanhedrin.” The members of the Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle with Paul in the middle of the circle.

23:6c

Brothers: The Greek phrase which the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Brothers is literally “Men, brothers.” It is the same way Paul addressed the Sanhedrin in 23:1. You should translate this phrase as you did there.

the son of a Pharisee: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a Pharisee is plural. The phrase literally says “a son of Pharisees.” It probably indicates that Paul’s father and probably his grandfather were Pharisees. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

a descendant of Pharisees (God’s Word)
-or-
my ancestors were Pharisees

23:6d

because of: This phrase in Greek is literally “concerning.” It indicates that at this time Paul directed the discussion in this meeting to his hope in the resurrection of the dead. For example:

with respect to (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
regarding

my hope in the resurrection of the dead: This phrase in Greek is literally “hope and resurrection of dead.” There are several ways to interpret the Greek word “and” here:

(1) It introduces what the hope is about here. For example:

the hope I have that the dead will rise to life (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)

(2) It means and here. For example:

the hope and the resurrection of the dead (Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because only the resurrection is mentioned in 23:8.

hope: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hope refers to confidently expecting something to happen. The word hope can also mean “wish,” but that is not the intended meaning here. Other ways to translate this word are:

expect (God’s Word)
-or-
believe (Contemporary English Version)

resurrection of the dead: This phrase refers to when God will cause all people to become alive again in their bodies. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

people will rise from the dead (New Century Version)
-or-
the dead will come back to life (God’s Word)
-or-
the dead will live again
-or-
God will make alive those who have died

I am on trial: The Greek verb which the Berean Standard Bible translates as I am on trial is literally “I am being judged.” This meeting with the Sanhedrin was to gather information for the Roman commander. It was not an actual trial. But the Jewish leaders probably wanted to gather information to decide whether Paul was guilty of a wrong deed connected to the riot at the temple (21:27–36). Other ways to translate this verb are:

I am being judged ⌊by you(plur)⌋
-or-
The Sanhedrin/Council is judging me

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.