Acts 10:1-20

Peter Visits Cornelius

10:1 Now there was a man in Caesarea ¹  named Cornelius, a centurion ²  of what was known as the Italian Cohort. ³  10:2 He ⁴  was a devout, God-fearing man, ⁵  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ⁶  and prayed to God regularly. 10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon ⁷  he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God ⁸  who came in ⁹  and said to him, “Cornelius.” 10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius ¹⁰  replied, ¹¹  “What is it, Lord?” The angel ¹²  said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity ¹³  have gone up as a memorial ¹⁴  before God. 10:5 Now ¹⁵  send men to Joppa ¹⁶  and summon a man named Simon, ¹⁷  who is called Peter. 10:6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, ¹⁸  whose house is by the sea.” 10:7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius ¹⁹  called two of his personal servants ²⁰  and a devout soldier from among those who served him, ²¹  10:8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

10:9 About noon ²²  the next day, while they were on their way and approaching ²³  the city, Peter went up on the roof ²⁴  to pray. 10:10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him. ²⁵  10:11 He ²⁶  saw heaven ²⁷  opened ²⁸  and an object something like a large sheet ²⁹  descending, ³⁰  being let down to earth ³¹  by its four corners. 10:12 In it ³²  were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles ³³  of the earth and wild birds. ³⁴  10:13 Then ³⁵  a voice said ³⁶  to him, “Get up, Peter; slaughter ³⁷  and eat!” 10:14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!” ³⁸  10:15 The voice ³⁹  spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider ⁴⁰  ritually unclean!” ⁴¹  10:16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven. ⁴² 

10:17 Now while Peter was puzzling over ⁴³  what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was ⁴⁴  and approached ⁴⁵  the gate. 10:18 They ⁴⁶  called out to ask if Simon, known as Peter, ⁴⁷  was staying there as a guest. 10:19 While Peter was still thinking seriously about ⁴⁸  the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look! Three men are looking for you. 10:20 But get up, ⁴⁹  go down, and accompany them without hesitation, ⁵⁰  because I have sent them.”

[10:1]  ¹ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). It was known as “Caesarea by the sea” (BDAG 499 s.v. Καισάρεια 2). Largely Gentile, it was a center of Roman administration and the location of many of Herod the Great’s building projects (Josephus, Ant. 15.9.6 [15.331-341]).

[10:1]  ² sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[10:1]  ³ sn A cohort was a Roman military unit of about 600 soldiers, one-tenth of a legion (BDAG 936 s.v. σπεῖρα). The Italian Cohort has been identified as cohors II Italica which is known to have been stationed in Syria in a.d. 88.

[10:2]  ⁴ tn In the Greek text this represents a continuation of the previous sentence. Because of the tendency of contemporary English to use shorter sentences, a new sentence was begun here in the translation.

[10:2]  ⁵ sn The description of Cornelius as a devout, God-fearing man probably means that he belonged to the category called “God-fearers,” Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 43-44, and Sir 11:17; 27:11; 39:27.

[10:2]  ⁶ tn Or “gave many gifts to the poor.” This was known as “giving alms,” or acts of mercy (Sir 7:10; BDAG 315-16 s.v. ἐλεημοσύνη).

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.

[10:3]  ⁸ 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.

[10:3]  ⁹ 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.”

[10:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹¹ tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.

[10:4]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ¹³ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

[10:4]  ¹⁴ 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).

[10:5]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And now.” 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.

[10:5]  ¹⁶ sn Joppa was a seaport on the Philistine coast, in the same location as modern Jaffa.

[10:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a certain Simon.”

[10:6]  ¹⁸ tn Or “with a certain Simon Berseus.” Although most modern English translations treat βυρσεῖ (bursei) as Simon’s profession (“Simon the tanner”), it is possible that the word is actually Simon’s surname (“Simon Berseus” or “Simon Tanner”). BDAG 185 s.v. βυρσεύς regards it as a surname. See also MM 118.

[10:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “domestic servants.” The Greek word here is οἰκέτης (oiketh"), which technically refers to a member of the household, but usually means a household servant (slave) or personal servant rather than a field laborer.

[10:7]  ²¹ tn The meaning of the genitive participle προσκαρτερούντων (proskarterountwn) could either be “a soldier from the ranks of those who served him” (referring to his entire command) or “a soldier from among his personal staff” (referring to a group of soldiers who were his personal attendants). The translation “from among those who served him” is general enough to cover either possibility.

[10:9]  ²² tn Grk “about the sixth hour.”

[10:9]  ²³ tn The participles ὁδοιπορούντων (Jodoiporountwn, “while they were on their way”) and ἐγγιζόντων (engizontwn, “approaching”) have been translated as temporal participles.

[10:9]  ²⁴ sn Went up on the roof. Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

[10:10]  ²⁵ tn The traditional translation, “he fell into a trance,” is somewhat idiomatic; it is based on the textual variant ἐπέπεσεν (epepesen, “he fell”) found in the Byzantine text but almost certainly not original.

[10:11]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[10:11]  ²⁷ tn Or “the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[10:11]  ²⁸ tn On the heavens “opening,” see Matt 3:16; Luke 3:21; Rev 19:11 (cf. BDAG 84 s.v. ἀνοίγω 2). This is the language of a vision or a revelatory act of God.

[10:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “a large linen cloth” (the term was used for the sail of a ship; BDAG 693 s.v. ὀθόνη).

[10:11]  ³⁰ tn Or “coming down.”

[10:11]  ³¹ tn Or “to the ground.”

[10:12]  ³² tn Grk “in which.” The relative pronoun was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style.

[10:12]  ³³ tn Or “snakes.” Grk “creeping things.” According to L&N 4.51, in most biblical contexts the term (due to the influence of Hebrew classifications such as Gen 1:25-26, 30) included small four-footed animals like rats, mice, frogs, toads, salamanders, and lizards. In this context, however, where “creeping things” are contrasted with “four-footed animals,” the English word “reptiles,” which primarily but not exclusively designates snakes, is probably more appropriate. See also Gen 6:20, as well as the law making such creatures unclean food in Lev 11:2-47.

[10:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

[10:13]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And there came.” 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.

[10:13]  ³⁶ tn Grk “a voice to him”; the word “said” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

[10:13]  ³⁷ tn Or “kill.” Traditionally θῦσον (quson) is translated “kill,” but in the case of animals intended for food, “slaughter” is more appropriate.

[10:14]  ³⁸ tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqarto") here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts.

[10:15]  ³⁹ tn Grk “And the voice.” 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.

[10:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “declare.”

[10:15]  ⁴¹ sn For the significance of this vision see Mark 7:14-23; Rom 14:14; Eph 2:11-22. God directed this change in practice.

[10:16]  ⁴² tn Or “into the sky” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”).

[10:17]  ⁴³ tn Or “was greatly confused over.” The term means to be perplexed or at a loss (BDAG 235 s.v. διαπορέω).

[10:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “having learned.” The participle διερωτήσαντες (dierwthsante") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:17]  ⁴⁵ tn BDAG 418 s.v. ἐφίστημι 1 has “ἐπί τι approach or stand by someth. (Sir 41:24) Ac 10:17.”

[10:18]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “and.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun by supplying the pronoun “they” as the subject of the following verb.

[10:18]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “Simon, the one called Peter.” This qualification was necessary because the owner of the house was also named Simon (Acts 9:43).

[10:19]  ⁴⁸ tn The translation “think seriously about” for διενθυμέομαι (dienqumeomai) is given in L&N 30.2. Peter was “pondering” the vision (BDAG 244 s.v.).

[10:20]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “But getting up, go down.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:20]  ⁵⁰ tn The term means “without doubting” or “without deliberation.” It is a term of conscience and discernment. In effect, Peter is to listen to them rather than hesitate (BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 6).