Verse 23 begins with a dependent clause that the Good News Translation has made into a sentence. God, in his own will and knowledge, had already decided that Jesus … represents “this one by the predetermined will and foreknowledge of God.” “This one” refers back to Jesus, while the phrase “predetermined will and foreknowledge of God” means God had already decided and had already known what was going to take place.

The translation of will and knowledge is not easy, and in many languages these terms must be rendered as verbs, for example, “God himself planned it that way and he knew all about it beforehand.” However, these expressions may need to be placed after the description of the event, such as “God has already decided that Jesus would be handed over to you; that is the way he planned it and he knew all about it beforehand” (or “before you did it”).

The verbal phrase handed over in the original actually has no indication of the persons to whom Jesus was handed over. In the historical situation it was the Jews to whom Jesus handed over, and therefore the Good News Translation has added to you (see also Barclay, and Jerusalem Bible “who was put into your power”).

The expression you killed him must in many languages be changed to a causative, since these men did not physically kill him, but caused others to do it, even as the text itself stipulates.

The use of letting in English is misleading. This should not have the sense of “permitting” but of “causing,” for example, “you caused sinful men to nail.”

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 .