sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

complete verse (Acts 2:45)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:45:

  • Uma: “There were some who sold the contents of their house, and the money of the selling was divided among their companions who were in need.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They sold their properties/wealth and some of their belongings/things and they divided the money to help meet the need of each one.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They sold their possessions and land, and the sale price they distributed to all their companions according to what each one needed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They were also selling-and-selling their land and belongings to share-with their companions according to the needs of each one.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The proof was, if one person had real-hardship, what others would do is, they would sell some belongings or a (valuable) possession and use (the money) to help that sibling of theirs in believing who was in difficulty, however much he needed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Lalana Chinantec: “They sold what was their; the proceeds from that they gave to their companions who didn’t have anything.”
  • Morelos Nahuatl: “They sold all their lands and what they had. Then they distributed to everyone according to the amount each lacked.”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “And also when they sold land, houses, or whatever they had, they divided everything, giving each one that which he lacked.” (Source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

Translation commentary on Acts 2:45

The last clause of 2.44 is a general statement, of which verse 45 is a more specific description. It may even be useful to introduce this verse by a transitional phrase, “that means” or “that is to say,” in which one indicates clearly that the preceding statement is explained by what follows. Otherwise, one might get the impression that the two clauses refer to different events. If there is to be a distinction made between the two words property and possessions, the first should be taken to refer to real estate and the second to personal property. These terms are collectively translated as “what they owned” or “what belonged to them.” They would sell … and distribute correctly carries out the force of the Greek verb tense, which indicates that this was an action that was carried on whenever the need arose, for example, “from time to time.” The fact that they could sell their goods is still further indication that the believers did not turn everything over to a community fund as may be suggested by some translations of verse 44.

Among all has reference to all believers who were in need.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2:45

2:45a

Selling: This word means “exchange/trade something for money.” One person would give another person money, and in exchange the second person would give the first person the thing. The thing now belonged to the first person. Here the word indicates that a believer would sell some or all of the things that he or she owned.

possessions: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as possessions refers to land, houses, and perhaps even furniture. For example:

property (Good News Translation)

goods: The word goods refers here to things other than land, houses, and furniture. Examples would be tools, kitchen things, food, and clothing.

2:45b

they: The pronoun they refers to the believers who sold some or all of what they owned (2:45a).

shared: This word implies that they gave the money from selling the things. In some languages it is helpful to include the implied information. For example:

gave ⌊the money⌋

anyone who was in need: Here the pronoun anyone refers to any person among the believers.

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