The full force of Peter’s wish is accurately translated by the Good News Translation: may you and your money go to hell (see Phillips “to hell with you and your money,” who adds the note, “these words are exactly what the Greek means. It is a pity that their real meaning is obscured by modern slang usage”; Jerusalem Bible “may your silver be lost forever, and you with it”). In some languages this forceful expression may be rendered as “may your money die and you, too” or “you and your money will certainly die.”

In the present context God’s gift is the power to communicate the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. The phrase God’s gift may be difficult to render in this context since gift does not refer to an object but to an ability to perform a particular function. The entire clause may be rendered, therefore, as “thinking that you can pay money and have God cause you to have this ability to give the Holy Spirit” or “… cause the Holy Spirit to come upon people.”

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 .