In Greek, verses 18 and 19 form one long involved sentence, which the Good News Translation has divided into two sentences for the sake of clarity (see also Phillips). From the first day I arrived in the province of Asia is the emphatic element in verse 18, and the entire clause how I … in the province of Asia is best understood as the object of the verb know.

The expression how I spent the whole time may be rendered in some languages as “how I lived and worked the whole time.”

The temporal expression from the first day would suggest a continuation of Paul’s activity until the time he left. Therefore, in some languages this last clause is rendered as “from the very first day I arrived in the province of Asia, I lived and worked in the same manner until the day that I left.”

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 .