2:35

until: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as until can also mean “while.” Here the Greek word does not imply anything after God had defeated his enemies.

I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet: The word footstool is a figure of speech. It indicates that God will defeat the enemies of David’s lord and they will be under the control of that person. In some languages a literal translation would not have that meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Translate the meaning of the figure of speech in the text. For example:

while I put your enemies ⌊completely⌋ under your control

You may then want to indicate the literal words in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

Literally “I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

• Translate the figure of speech as a simile. For example:

while I ⌊defeat⌋ your enemies and make them ⌊like⌋ a stool for your feet

• Translate literally and explain the meaning in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

The word footstool indicates that God will defeat the enemies of David’s lord and they will be under the control of that person.

Paragraph 2:36

2:36a

The quote from the Old Testament ended at 2:35. Peter again spoke his own words beginning here at 2:36a. In some languages the grammar will already clearly indicate that. But in some languages a literal translation would not clearly indicate that Peter now spoke for himself. If that is true in your language, you may want to introduce 2:36a to indicate that. For example:

⌊Peter concluded,⌋
-or-

⌊Peter, speaking for himself, said,⌋
-or-

⌊Peter stopped quoting scripture and said,⌋

Therefore: This conjunction introduces Peter’s conclusion. “Jesus is Lord and Christ” is the important point, and 2:14–35 supports this point.

let all Israel know with certainty: This phrase indicates that people should be certain that what Peter now said was true. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

All the people of Israel…are to know for sure (Good News Translation)
-or-
the whole House of Israel can be certain (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
I definitely make known to all ⌊the people of⌋ Israel
-or-
it is necessary that all ⌊the descendants of⌋ Israel understand

all Israel: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all Israel is literally “all (the) house of Israel.” This phrase refers to all the descendants of the patriarch Israel, namely the Jews. Peter wanted every Jew to know that Jesus was the Christ even though not all Jews heard Peter speak these words. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

all the descendants/line of Israel
-or-
all those descended from Israel

Peter himself was a Jew. In some languages it is necessary or more natural to indicate that. For example:

all my fellow Israelites/Jews

2:36b

God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ: The phrase whom you crucified describes Jesus. It is a statement of blame. It does not separate Jesus from other men named Jesus. For the correct meaning in some languages, translators must avoid the word whom. For example:

This Jesus was crucified by you. But God has made him both Lord and Christ.
-or-
You crucified this Jesus. But God has made him both Lord and Christ.

crucified: This word means to execute (kill) someone by nailing or tying him to a cross, then setting the cross upright. This was a Roman way to cause criminals to die a slow and painful death. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

you put him to death on a cross (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
you nailed/fastened him to a cross to kill him

Here are some ways to translate “cross”:

plank/wood of death
-or-
crossed-beam(s) of death
-or-
a tree for killing people
-or-
a stake/post to which they fasten/nail someone ⌊to kill him⌋

Christ: The word Christ is used here as a title. The Jews used this title to refer to the special person whom God had appointed and promised to send as king and savior. See how you translated this word in 2:31b.

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.