15:8a

And God, who knows the heart: In Greek, this is literally “God, the heart-knower.” It indicates that God knows everything that people think and believe. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

God, who knows the thoughts of everyone (Good News Translation)
-or-
God knows people’s hearts (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
God, the one who knows what every person thinks and believes

the heart: In Greek, the word heart refers figuratively to the inner person, which includes the mind, the emotions, and the will. In some languages, another body part is used to describe this. For example:

the liver
-or-
the stomach
-or-
the throat

If a literal translation of heart (or another body part) would not refer to the inner person, you should translate the meaning directly. For example:

the insides of people
-or-
the minds of everyone
-or-
what people think/believe

showed His approval: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as showed His approval means here that God approved and accepted the Gentiles because they believed the gospel about Jesus. God showed His approval by giving them the Holy Spirit. (See Acts 10:44–47.) They did not have to follow any Jewish rituals like circumcision first before God accepted them. Other ways to translate this are:

confirmed that he accepts Gentiles (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
gave evidence ⌊to everyone⌋ that he accepted them ⌊as his people⌋

15:8b

by giving the Holy Spirit to them: This phrase indicates how God showed he accepted them. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

when he gave the Holy Spirit to them
-or-
God, who knows hearts, gave the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. In this/that way he showed that he accepted them.

giving the Holy Spirit to them: This refers to causing the Holy Spirit to fill them and communicate with them or through them. In some languages it is more natural to use a different verb than “give.” For example:

causing the Holy Spirit to enter/indwell them
-or-
sending the Holy Spirit to them
-or-
putting the Holy Spirit upon them

the Holy Spirit: This phrase refers to the Spirit of God. Some ways to translate Holy Spirit are:

Spirit/Breath of God
-or-
Sacred Spirit

See how you translated this phrase in 1:2 or 13:52.

just as He did to us: This refers to God giving the Holy Spirit to the Jewish believers on the day of Pentecost (2:4).

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