The same thing happened translates a phrase (literally “it happened according to the same”) that some take in the sense of “together” (see Revised Standard Version); but though the exact meaning is not clear, it is difficult to see why Luke was concerned to point out that Paul and Barnabas entered the synagogue together. On the contrary, one can easily see why he was concerned to indicate that the same thing happened in Iconium as had taken place in Antioch.

The translation of the clause the same thing happened in Iconium is not easy in some languages, since one may not have a convenient substitute such as thing to refer to an event. In some languages the closest equivalent is “in Iconium Paul and Barnabas had the same kind of experience as they had in Antioch of Pisidia.”

The subject of went is not explicit in the Greek, but since a new section is introduced, it is possible that the English reader may have difficulty in identifying “they” as a reference to Paul and Barnabas; for this reason the Good News Translation has made the subject explicit. Something similar has been done in verse 3 where “they” is rendered apostles.

The word which the Good News Translation has translated Gentiles literally means “Greeks.” Either Luke intended this word to be taken as a synonym for Gentiles, or else he intended to differentiate the Greeks from the other Gentiles. The first of these possibilities seems more likely, in light of the observation that he mentions only two groups and one of them is Jews.

The phrase Jewish synagogue may be rendered as “synagogue where Jews met” or as in many languages, “meeting house of Jews” or even “worship house of Jews.”

In most languages there is a general equivalent of a great number. This is often a term such as “many” and it differs in actual number depending upon the content. In some languages, however, there are several words for “many” and therefore one must indicate whether it is a matter of a few dozen, a few hundred, or several thousand people. It is probable that in this type of circumstance several hundred would be an appropriate equivalent, although it may very well be that even fewer believers would cause a considerable reaction.

The phrase became believers may need to be made more specific in some languages, “came to believe in Jesus” or “came to believe in the Lord.”

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 .