He saw two Israelites fighting translates a clause that literally reads “he appeared to them as they were quarreling.” From the context it is obvious that Moses came across two men (most translations add “two”), and that these men were fellow Israelites.

Tried to is implied in the meaning of the verb tense, which is literally translated as “he was making peace between them.” Expressions for make peace differ radically from language to language, for example, “caused them to cease fighting,” “caused them to receive one another again,” or “caused them to snap fingers together again,” the local equivalent in some languages of “shaking hands.”

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 .