Translation commentary on Acts 2:36

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 23:6

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

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