Sharon is the coastal plain extending thirty miles along the sea from Joppa to Caesarea. A translation should make clear that Sharon is not a town, but the coastal plain (see Twentieth Century New Testament “all the inhabitants of Lydda and of the Plain of Sharon”; see also Zürcher Bibel).

Turned to the Lord must be understood in the sense of “became believers in the Lord.” In many languages the mere process of “turning” implies no figurative extension of believing in or becoming a disciple of.

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 .