Acts 10:33-43

10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. ¹  So now we are all here in the presence of God ²  to listen ³  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” ⁴ 

10:34 Then Peter started speaking: ⁵  “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, ⁶  10:35 but in every nation ⁷  the person who fears him ⁸  and does what is right ⁹  is welcomed before him. 10:36 You know ¹⁰  the message ¹¹  he sent to the people ¹²  of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace ¹³  through ¹⁴  Jesus Christ ¹⁵  (he is Lord ¹⁶  of all) – 10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ¹⁷  10:38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, ¹⁸  that ¹⁹  God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He ²⁰  went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, ²¹  because God was with him. ²²  10:39 We ²³  are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea ²⁴  and in Jerusalem. ²⁵  They ²⁶  killed him by hanging him on a tree, ²⁷  10:40 but ²⁸  God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen, ²⁹  10:41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen, ³⁰  who ate and drank ³¹  with him after he rose from the dead. 10:42 He ³²  commanded us to preach to the people and to warn ³³  them ³⁴  that he is the one ³⁵  appointed ³⁶  by God as judge ³⁷  of the living and the dead. 10:43 About him all the prophets testify, ³⁸  that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins ³⁹  through his name.”

[10:33]  ¹ tn Grk “you have done well by coming.” The idiom καλῶς ποιεῖν (kalw" poiein) is translated “be kind enough to do someth.” by BDAG 505-6 s.v. καλῶς 4.a. The participle παραγενόμενος (paragenomeno") has been translated as an English infinitive due to the nature of the English idiom (“kind enough to” + infinitive).

[10:33]  ² tn The translation “we are here in the presence of God” for ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ πάρεσμεν (enwpion tou qeou paresmen) is given by BDAG 773 s.v. πάρειμι 1.a.

[10:33]  ³ tn Or “to hear everything.”

[10:33]  ⁴ tn The words “to say to us” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Cornelius knows Peter is God’s representative, bringing God’s message.

[10:34]  ⁵ tn Grk “Opening his mouth Peter said” (a Semitic idiom for beginning to speak in a somewhat formal manner). The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:34]  ⁶ tn Grk “God is not one who is a respecter of persons,” that is, “God is not one to show partiality” (cf. BDAG 887 s.v. προσωπολήμπτης). L&N 88.239 translates this verse “I realize that God does not show favoritism (in dealing with people).” The underlying Hebrew idiom includes the personal element (“respecter of persons”) so the phrase “in dealing with people” is included in the present translation. It fits very well with the following context and serves to emphasize the relational component of God’s lack of partiality. The latter is a major theme in the NT: Rom 2:11; Eph 2:11-22; Col 3:25; Jas 2:1; 1 Pet 1:17. This was the lesson of Peter’s vision.

[10:35]  ⁷ sn See Luke 24:47.

[10:35]  ⁸ tn Or “shows reverence for him.”

[10:35]  ⁹ tn Grk “works righteousness”; the translation “does what is right” for this phrase in this verse is given by L&N 25.85.

[10:36]  ¹⁰ tn The subject and verb (“you know”) do not actually occur until the following verse, but have been repeated here because of the requirements of English word order.

[10:36]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the word.”

[10:36]  ¹² tn Grk “to the sons.”

[10:36]  ¹³ sn Peace is a key OT concept: Isa 52:7; Nah 1:15; also for Luke: Luke 1:79; 2:14; Acts 9:31. See also the similar phrase in Eph 2:17.

[10:36]  ¹⁴ tn Or “by.”

[10:36]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[10:36]  ¹⁶ sn He is Lord of all. Though a parenthetical remark, this is the theological key to the speech. Jesus is Lord of all, so the gospel can go to all. The rest of the speech proclaims Jesus’ authority.

[10:37]  ¹⁷ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[10:38]  ¹⁸ sn The somewhat awkward naming of Jesus as from Nazareth here is actually emphatic. He is the key subject of these key events.

[10:38]  ¹⁹ tn Or “how.” The use of ὡς (Jws) as an equivalent to ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect or even direct discourse is well documented. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5 lists Acts 10:28 in this category.

[10:38]  ²⁰ tn Grk “power, who.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “he,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[10:38]  ²¹ tn The translation “healing all who were oppressed by the devil” is given in L&N 22.22.

[10:38]  ²² sn See Acts 7:9.

[10:39]  ²³ tn Grk “And we.” 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.

[10:39]  ²⁴ tn Grk “the land of the Jews,” but this is similar to the phrase used as the name of the province of Judea in 1 Macc 8:3 (see BDAG 1093-94 s.v. χώρα 2.b).

[10:39]  ²⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:39]  ²⁶ tn Grk “in Jerusalem, whom they killed.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “him” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[10:39]  ²⁷ tn Or “by crucifying him” (“hang on a tree” is by the time of the 1st century an idiom for crucifixion). The allusion is to the judgment against Jesus as a rebellious figure, appealing to the language of Deut 21:23. The Jewish leadership has badly “misjudged” Jesus.

[10:40]  ²⁸ tn The conjunction “but” is not in the Greek text, but the contrast is clearly implied in the context. This is technically asyndeton, or lack of a connective, in Greek.

[10:40]  ²⁹ tn Grk “and granted that he should become visible.” The literal Greek idiom is somewhat awkward in English. L&N 24.22 offers the translation “caused him to be seen” for this verse.

[10:41]  ³⁰ tn Or “the witnesses God had previously chosen.” See Acts 1:8.

[10:41]  ³¹ sn Ate and drank. See Luke 24:35-49.

[10:42]  ³² tn Grk “and he.” 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.

[10:42]  ³³ tn The verb διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) can mean “warn,” and such a meaning is highly probable in this context where a reference to the judgment of both the living and the dead is present. The more general meaning “to testify solemnly” does not capture this nuance.

[10:42]  ³⁴ tn The word “them” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[10:42]  ³⁵ tn Grk “that this one is the one,” but this is awkward in English and has been simplified to “that he is the one.”

[10:42]  ³⁶ tn Or “designated.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “the one appointed by God as judge” for this phrase.

[10:42]  ³⁷ sn Jesus has divine authority as judge over the living and the dead: Acts 17:26-31; Rom 14:9; 1 Thess 5:9-10; 1 Tim 4:1; 1 Pet 4:5.

[10:43]  ³⁸ tn Or “All the prophets testify about him.” Although modern English translations tend to place “about him” after “testify” (so NIV, NRSV) the phrase “about him” has been left at the beginning of v. 43 for emphatic reasons.

[10:43]  ³⁹ sn Forgiveness of sins. See Luke 24:47; also Acts 14:23; 19:4; 9:42; 11:17; 16:31. The gospel is present in the prophetic promise, Rom 1:1-7. The message is in continuity with the ancient hope.