Ἀκούσαντες δὲ κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν εἶπόν τε πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀποστόλους, Τί ποιήσωμεν, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί;
The First Converts
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
The Greek in Acts 2:37 that is translated as “cut to the heart” or “hearts were troubled” or alike in English is translated as “it entered squeezing in their spirits” in Chuj. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as “their heart hurt.”
See also troubled.
The Greek term that is usually translated as “apostle(s)” in English is (back-) translated in the following ways:
Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as commissioner.
In American Sign Language it is translated with a combination of the signs for “following” plus the sign for “authority” to differentiate it from disciple. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“apostles” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Following is a Armenian Orthodox icon of Peter (found in the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Azerbaijan).
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Following is a hand colored stencil print on momigami of Peter by Sadao Watanabe (1970):
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “key” (referring to Matthew 16:19). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Peter” or “Cephas” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “rock,” referring to the meaning of the Greek word for “Peter.”
“Peter” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Peter – rock.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Peter .
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding Peter and the apostles).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
See also brothers.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:37:
The first clause when the people heard this helps to identify a shift in the viewpoint of the characters. The pronoun this refers to all that Peter had said, such as “when the people heard what Peter had said.”
Deeply troubled is literally “stabbed to the heart” (the corresponding Greek verb occurs only here in the New Testament). To be deeply troubled may be expressed in a number of ways, often idiomatically, for example, “their hearts were cut,” “they did not know what to do,” or “they were split” (referring to their divided thoughts).
The term brothers in this verse should be the same as the expression used by Peter in verse 29.
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 .
Paragraph 2:37–40
2:37a
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart: The Greek text is literally “having heard, they were pierced in the heart.” This is an idiom that means “feel an emotion greatly.” Here it probably refers to remorse. When Jesus died, the Jews probably thought that Jesus deserved to be crucified. But after Peter spoke they realized that Jesus was the Christ, the one who would save his people. So then they were sorry that they supported those who wanted to kill Jesus. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Peter’s words pierced their hearts (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
they were acutely distressed (NET Bible)
-or-
they felt pain ⌊like a spear⌋ to the heart
-or-
they felt a sharp pain of remorse/sadness
the people: This refers to the crowd of Jews from many countries (2:5a–14a).
2:37b
and: It is possible to see 2:37b as a result of 2:37a. In some languages it is more natural to indicate that connection. For example:
and ⌊so⌋
apostles: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as apostles means “those who are sent.” It refers to the people whom someone sends with authority to do something.
Here are some other ways to translate apostles:
• Translate the meaning of the Greek word apostles. For example:
people sent ⌊to speak/act for him⌋
-or-
⌊special⌋ messengers
-or-
representatives
-or-
men with authority from Jesus
• Indicate the role or function of apostles. For example:
chief leaders ⌊of Jesus’ work⌋
-or-
people who are in charge ⌊of Jesus’ work⌋
Be careful to choose different terms for “apostles,” “angels,” “elders,” and “prophets.”
See how you translated this word in 1:2.
Brothers: The Greek text is literally “Men, brothers.” It is a polite way for the Jews to address Peter and the other eleven apostles. Here are some other ways to translate this Greek phrase:
Our(excl) male-kinsmen/people, our brothers
-or-
Fellow countrymen
-or-
Our relatives
what shall we do?: This is a real question. The Jews did not know what they should do about the news that Jesus is the Christ. It implies that many of them had accepted the news about Jesus. So they asked the apostles to tell them what to do next. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
What are we to do…? (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
what should we do? (New Revised Standard Version)
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