There was a violent earthquake may be rendered in some languages as “the earth shook very much.” In practically all areas there are earthquakes, and some equivalent expression is normally well known. In some instances, however, it is highly idiomatic—for example, “the volcano snored,” “mother earth had a fit,” or “the giant rolled over.”

Shook the prison to its foundations may be rendered as “even shook the foundations of the prison” or “even shook the ground on which the prison was built.”

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 .