SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2021 – Page 22

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 28:12

28:12

Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there three days: It was usually a ten to twelve hour trip by sailing ship from Malta to Syracuse. It would be done in one day. It is mostly north and a bit east from Malta.

Putting in: Here the phrase Putting in refers to bringing the ship to a dock and tying the ship to it. See how you translated the Greek word at 27:3 (“landed”).

Syracuse: Syracuse is a port town on the south coast of the island of Sicily.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2:4

2:4a

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit: This clause refers to the filling that all believers receive. It indicates that the Holy Spirit will guide the believers and give them the power to do all that God wanted them to do. 2:4b then tells the readers what the Holy Spirit did in the believers at this time. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

the Holy Spirit guided/empowered all of them
-or-
All of them were full of the Holy Spirit

This clause is passive. The examples above do not use a passive clause. Translate the clause in a natural way in your language.

they…all: This phrase refers to all of the believers in that place. For example:

everyone present (New Living Translation (2004))

Holy Spirit: See how you translated this phrase in 1:2b.

2:4b

began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them: This clause indicates that the Holy Spirit gave them the power to speak languages that the believers had not learned, and they began speaking in those languages. In some languages it is necessary or more natural to indicate what the Holy Spirit did first. For example:

the Spirit enabled them to speak in other tongues and they began to do so

other tongues: This phrase refers to languages that were spoken in other places.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2:37

Paragraph 2:37–40

2:37a

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart: The Greek text is literally “having heard, they were pierced in the heart.” This is an idiom that means “feel an emotion greatly.” Here it probably refers to remorse. When Jesus died, the Jews probably thought that Jesus deserved to be crucified. But after Peter spoke they realized that Jesus was the Christ, the one who would save his people. So then they were sorry that they supported those who wanted to kill Jesus. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Peter’s words pierced their hearts (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
they were acutely distressed (NET Bible)
-or-
they felt pain ⌊like a spear⌋ to the heart
-or-
they felt a sharp pain of remorse/sadness

the people: This refers to the crowd of Jews from many countries (2:5a–14a).

2:37b

and: It is possible to see 2:37b as a result of 2:37a. In some languages it is more natural to indicate that connection. For example:

and ⌊so⌋

apostles: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as apostles means “those who are sent.” It refers to the people whom someone sends with authority to do something.

Here are some other ways to translate apostles:

• Translate the meaning of the Greek word apostles. For example:

people sent ⌊to speak/act for him⌋
-or-

⌊special⌋ messengers
-or-
representatives
-or-
men with authority from Jesus

• Indicate the role or function of apostles. For example:

chief leaders ⌊of Jesus’ work⌋
-or-
people who are in charge ⌊of Jesus’ work⌋

Be careful to choose different terms for “apostles,” “angels,” “elders,” and “prophets.”

See how you translated this word in 1:2.

Brothers: The Greek text is literally “Men, brothers.” It is a polite way for the Jews to address Peter and the other eleven apostles. Here are some other ways to translate this Greek phrase:

Our(excl) male-kinsmen/people, our brothers
-or-
Fellow countrymen
-or-
Our relatives

what shall we do?: This is a real question. The Jews did not know what they should do about the news that Jesus is the Christ. It implies that many of them had accepted the news about Jesus. So they asked the apostles to tell them what to do next. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

What are we to do…? (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
what should we do? (New Revised Standard Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 3:22

3:22a–23b

For…: The Greek has two conjunctions, one here and one at the beginning of 3:23a. The usual meanings of these two conjunctions when the one follows the other are “on one hand” and “on the other hand.” They introduce contrast between the two parts. Here, Moses warned people to obey the later prophet (whom Peter implied here was the Christ, that is, Jesus), but God will destroy those who do not obey.

3:22a–b tell more about the Christ. So the Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions use the word For here. Other English versions do not translate the Greek conjunctions and allow the context to indicate the connection between the clauses. Consider what would be the most natural way in your language to indicate the connections between the clauses here.

3:22a

The quote in 3:22a–23b is from parts of Deuteronomy 18:15–19. You may want to include this information in a footnote or a cross-reference in your translation.

Moses said: The Jews considered Moses to have been a great prophet. In Deuteronomy he told the people that God would raise up a prophet like him so that the people could hear from God after he died. Like many Jews of his time, Peter considered Moses’ words to be referring to the Messiah/Christ whom God would send.

In some languages a literal translation would refer to someone other than the Christ. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain in your translation that Moses was speaking of the Christ. Your translation should not use the title “Christ” in Moses’ words. For example:

Moses said ⌊this about him⌋

Moses: The Jewish people considered Moses to be their greatest prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10). He was also one of their greatest leaders. In some languages people do not know who Moses was. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in a footnote in your translation. Here is an example footnote:

Moses was the greatest prophet of the Jews (Deuteronomy 34:10). His story is told in the Old Testament books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The Lord your God: Some languages cannot use the pronoun your with the word God. If that is true in your language, indicate that meaning naturally in your language. For example:

The Lord God, the one you ⌊worship/serve/obey,⌋

will raise up for you a prophet: The phrase raise up refers to God causing the Christ to be a prophet and begin his ministry. Here are some other ways to translate these words:

will give you a prophet (New Century Version)
-or-
will choose one of your own people to be a prophet (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
will send you a prophet (Good News Translation)

for you: The Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase for you.

3:22b

like me: Moses was someone through whom the people of Israel heard from God. In that way he was a prophet who told the people what God said to him. Here he spoke about someone who would do the same thing later. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

like me ⌊in authority⌋
-or-
as I ⌊was over God’s people⌋
-or-
God will send you a prophet, just as he sent me (Good News Translation)
-or-
God will choose one of your own people to be a prophet, just as he chose me (Contemporary English Version)

from among your brothers: This phrase indicates that God would cause one of the Jewish people to be the prophet. See the Contemporary English Version example above.

3:22c

You must listen to Him in everything He tells you: The Greek is literally “you will listen to whatever he tells you.” But 3:23a–b indicates that some people may not listen. So the Berean Standard Bible and many English versions translate this clause as a command.

This clause indicates that they must accept everything that the prophet would tell them and they must also obey everything he would command them to do. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Listen carefully to everything he tells you (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You are to obey everything that he tells you to do (Good News Translation)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 4:28

4:28

They carried out: Here They refers to the people in 4:27a.

Your hand: This Greek idiom is used here to refer to “power.” For example:

your power (New International Version)

and will: Here this word means “plan, intention, purpose.” In some languages a verb must be used. For example:

what you planned

decided beforehand would happen: This phrase indicates here that God had already planned for those people to kill Jesus. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

determined before to be done (King James Version)
-or-
already-decided should be fulfilled

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 5:23

5:23a

The Greek begins with the words that mean “saying that.” But the words “with the report” followed by a colon (:) in 5:22b already introduces the direct speech, so many languages will not need to translate these Greek words.

We found the jail securely locked: The Greek is more literally “we found the jail locked with all security.” This clause indicates that the temple officers examined the cell that the apostles were in and probably other parts of the jail, such as the door to the outside, and saw that all security measures were good. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

We saw that the jail was locked with all security
-or-
We examined the jail and saw that it was locked and everything was proper

with the guards posted at the doors: This implies that the guards were guarding the doors well.

5:23b

no one inside: These words indicate that the apostles were not in the jail cell when the officers looked for them.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 6:14

6:14a

For: This word introduces an explanation of “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law” (6:13b) or introduces the particular examples of what they talked about there.

It may be more natural in some languages to omit this word and let the context imply that connection.

Jesus of Nazareth: It is possible to translate these words as “this Jesus of Nazareth” (as the New International Version does). The word “this” probably indicates that the false witnesses did not respect Jesus.

The phrase of Nazareth indicates that Jesus was from that town. It separates him from other men named Jesus at that time.

this place: Use the same word for place as you did in 6:13b.

6:14b

the customs that Moses handed down to us: The word customs refers here to rules for Jews to follow. Pharisees and other Jewish religious teachers (rabbis) wrote or spoke them. These rules were based on the Laws of Moses. The word customs probably includes the Laws of Moses and these additional rules.

You may want to explain this phrase in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

The word “customs” probably refers to the Laws of Moses and later rules that rabbis wrote or spoke, based on the Laws of Moses.

Moses handed down to us: Moses lived about 1,600 years before this time. The words handed down indicate that Moses gave the customs to the Jews living at that time, and they gave them to the next generation. This continued throughout the generations coming to the generation of Jews alive in Jesus’ time.

In some languages the words handed down must be explained for the correct meaning. For example:

Moses gave them to the generations of Jews coming down to us
-or-
Moses gave them to our ancestors and, down through the generations, to us

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 15:31

15:31

the people read it: Probably one of the leaders read the letter aloud so all of the other believers there could listen to what it said. In that way they all read it.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that each person read it to himself. If that is true in your language, indicate that it was read aloud to the group. For example:

they read it aloud (NET Bible)
-or-
they ⌊listened as someone⌋ read it aloud

they rejoiced at its encouraging message: The letter implied that they did not have to obey the Jewish laws, including circumcision. So they were glad. Other ways to translate this are:

they rejoiced because of its encouragement (English Standard Version)
-or-
they were pleased because the letter encouraged them
-or-
its message encouraged them and they were glad

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2021