Acts 10:4

10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius ¹  replied, ²  “What is it, Lord?” The angel ³  said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity ⁴  have gone up as a memorial ⁵  before God.

Acts 10:30-31

10:30 Cornelius ⁶  replied, ⁷  “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, ⁸  I was praying in my house, and suddenly ⁹  a man in shining clothing stood before me 10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity ¹⁰  have been remembered before God. ¹¹ 

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

⁵ sn The language used in the expression gone up as a memorial before God parallels what one would say of acceptable sacrifices (Ps 141:2; Sir 35:6; 50:16).

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Grk “said.”

⁸ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” Again, this is the hour of afternoon prayer.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

¹¹ sn This statement is a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation of Acts 10:4.