Was silent may also be taken in the sense of “became silent,” while the expression they heard translates a tense signifying continuous action. Also as represents a word normally meaning “and”; so the entire sentence may be rendered: “The whole group became silent, and listened to Barnabas and Paul….”

On wonders and miracles see 2.19.

The phrase rendered through them is a different one in Greek from the phrase translated with them in 14.27 and 15.4. Whereas in the former two passages the precise meaning of the phrase is unclear, here it definitely refers to a secondary agency, that is, “by means of them.” As has been noted in other passages, secondary agency is often expressed by a causative. In this context it is God who takes the initiative, but he performs the wonders and miracles through the apostles; therefore one may translate: “which God had caused Barnabas and Paul to do among the Gentiles.” The phrase among the Gentiles may be rendered in some languages as “where the Gentiles were.”

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 .