If it is the will of God is a formula apparently adopted from non-Jewish sources. For similar expressions see 1 Corinthians 4.19; 16.7; James 4.15. This clause is rendered in some languages as “if this is what God wants,” “if God causes it to happen,” or “if God desires that I come back.”

As in verse 18, it is important to select a term for sailed which implies that Paul himself did not sail his own boat—for example, “he got into a ship and was sailed off from Ephesus.”

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 .