How stubborn you are translates a single Greek word (literally “stiff-necked”), which is used in Exodus 33.3 and other places in the Septuagint to describe the rebellious attitude of Israel. In the phrase “uncircumcised in heart and in ears” the word “circumcised” must be understood as the equivalent of “pagan” or “heathenish.” Therefore, the Good News Translation has translated the first part of this expression as how heathen your hearts, and the second part has been rendered how deaf you are to God’s message! To be “heathen in heart” means either that one has not heard, or refuses to hear, God’s message.

In translating how heathen your hearts one may make specific reference to the heathen, for example, “your hearts are just like the hearts of heathen people” or “your hearts are just like the hearts of those who do not believe in God.” However, this portion of verse 51 may be somewhat restructured, for example, “just like those who reject God, you will not let your hearts listen to God’s message” or “… you are deaf to what God has said.”

The phrase resisted the Holy Spirit may be rendered as “refused to listen to the Holy Spirit” or “would not obey the Holy Spirit.”

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 .