Acts 10:2-6

10:2 He ¹  was a devout, God-fearing man, ²  as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people ³  and prayed to God regularly. 10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon ⁴  he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God ⁵  who came in ⁶  and said to him, “Cornelius.” 10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius ⁷  replied, ⁸  “What is it, Lord?” The angel ⁹  said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity ¹⁰  have gone up as a memorial ¹¹  before God. 10:5 Now ¹²  send men to Joppa ¹³  and summon a man named Simon, ¹⁴  who is called Peter. 10:6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, ¹⁵  whose house is by the sea.”

[10:2]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.

[10:3]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:4]  ⁸ tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.

[10:4]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

[10:4]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ sn Joppa was a seaport on the Philistine coast, in the same location as modern Jaffa.

[10:5]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “a certain Simon.”

[10:6]  ¹⁵ 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.