Acts 10:3

10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon ¹  he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God ²  who came in ³  and said to him, “Cornelius.”

Acts 10:30

10:30 Cornelius ⁴  replied, ⁵  “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, ⁶  I was praying in my house, and suddenly ⁷  a man in shining clothing stood before me

Daniel 7:9

7:9 “While I was watching,

thrones were set up,

and the Ancient of Days ⁸  took his seat.

His attire was white like snow;

the hair of his head was like lamb’s ⁹  wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire

and its wheels were all aflame. ¹⁰ 

Matthew 17:2

17:2 And he was transfigured before them. ¹¹  His ¹²  face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

Matthew 28:3

28:3 His ¹³  appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

Mark 16:5

16:5 Then ¹⁴  as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe ¹⁵  sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

Luke 24:4

24:4 While ¹⁶  they were perplexed ¹⁷  about this, suddenly ¹⁸  two men stood beside them in dazzling ¹⁹  attire.

John 20:12

20:12 And she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet.

Revelation 3:4

3:4 But you have a few individuals ²⁰  in Sardis who have not stained ²¹  their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed ²²  in white, because they are worthy.

Revelation 7:14

7:14 So ²³  I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” ²⁴  Then ²⁵  he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation. They ²⁶  have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!

¹ tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.

² tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

³ tn The participles εἰσελθόντα (eiselqonta) and εἰπόντα (eiponta) are accusative, and thus best taken as adjectival participles modifying ἄγγελον (angelon): “an angel who came in and said.”

⁴ tn Grk “And Cornelius.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

⁵ tn Grk “said.”

⁶ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” Again, this is the hour of afternoon prayer.

⁷ tn Grk “and behold.” The interjection ἰδού (idou) is difficult at times to translate into English. Here it has been translated as “suddenly” to convey the force of Cornelius’ account of the angel’s appearance.

⁸ tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”

⁹ tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.

¹⁰ tn Aram “a flaming fire.”

¹¹ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

¹² tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁵ sn Mark does not explicitly identify the young man dressed in a white robe as an angel (though the white robe suggests this), but Matthew does (Matt 28:2).

¹⁶ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁷ tn Or “bewildered.” The term refers to a high state of confusion and anxiety.

¹⁸ tn Grk “behold.”

¹⁹ sn The brilliantly shining clothing (dazzling attire) points to the fact that these are angels (see 24:23).

²⁰ tn Grk “a few names”; here ὄνομα (onoma) is used by figurative extension to mean “person” or “people”; according to L&N 9.19 there is “the possible implication of existence or relevance as individuals.”

²¹ tn Or “soiled” (so NAB, NRSV, NIV); NCV “have kept their clothes unstained”; CEV “have not dirtied your clothes with sin.”

²² tn The word “dressed” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous question.

²⁴ tn Though the expression “the answer” is not in the Greek text, it is clearly implied. Direct objects in Greek were frequently omitted when clear from the context.

²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

²⁶ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.