Acts 10:23-33

10:23 So Peter ¹  invited them in and entertained them as guests.

On the next day he got up and set out ²  with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa ³  accompanied him. 10:24 The following day ⁴  he entered Caesarea. ⁵  Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously ⁶  for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 10:25 So when ⁷  Peter came in, Cornelius met ⁸  him, fell ⁹  at his feet, and worshiped ¹⁰  him. 10:26 But Peter helped him up, ¹¹  saying, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal.” ¹²  10:27 Peter ¹³  continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together. ¹⁴  10:28 He said to them, “You know that ¹⁵  it is unlawful ¹⁶  for a Jew ¹⁷  to associate with or visit a Gentile, ¹⁸  yet God has shown me that I should call no person ¹⁹  defiled or ritually unclean. ²⁰  10:29 Therefore when you sent for me, ²¹  I came without any objection. Now may I ask why ²²  you sent for me?” 10:30 Cornelius ²³  replied, ²⁴  “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, ²⁵  I was praying in my house, and suddenly ²⁶  a man in shining clothing stood before me 10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity ²⁷  have been remembered before God. ²⁸  10:32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner, ²⁹  by the sea.’ 10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. ³⁰  So now we are all here in the presence of God ³¹  to listen ³²  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” ³³ 

[10:23]  ¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:23]  ² tn Or “went forth.”

[10:23]  ³ sn Some of the brothers from Joppa. As v. 45 makes clear, there were Jewish Christians in this group of witnesses.

[10:24]  ⁴ tn Grk “On the next day,” but since this phrase has already occurred in v. 23, it would be redundant in English to use it again here.

[10:24]  ⁵ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi).

[10:24]  ⁶ tn Normally προσδοκάω (prosdokaw) means “to wait with apprehension or anxiety for something,” often with the implication of impending danger or trouble (L&N 25.228), but in this context the anxiety Cornelius would have felt came from the importance of the forthcoming message as announced by the angel.

[10:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “So it happened that when.” 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.

[10:25]  ⁸ tn Grk “meeting him.” The participle συναντήσας (sunanthsa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:25]  ⁹ tn Grk “falling at his feet, worshiped.” The participle πεσών (peswn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[10:25]  ¹⁰ sn When Cornelius worshiped Peter, it showed his piety and his respect for Peter, but it was an act based on ignorance, as Peter’s remark in v. 26 indicates.

[10:26]  ¹⁰ tn BDAG 271 s.v. ἐγείρω 3 has “raise, help to rise….Stretched out Ac 10:26.”

[10:26]  ¹¹ tn Although it is certainly true that Peter was a “man,” here ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") has been translated as “mere mortal” because the emphasis in context is not on Peter’s maleness, but his humanity. Contrary to what Cornelius thought, Peter was not a god or an angelic being, but a mere mortal.

[10:27]  ¹³ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity. 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.

[10:27]  ¹⁴ tn Or “many people assembled.”

[10:28]  ¹⁶ tn Here ὡς (Jws) is used like ὅτι (Joti) to introduce indirect discourse (cf. BDAG 1105 s.v. ὡς 5).

[10:28]  ¹⁷ tn This term is used of wanton or callously lawless acts (BDAG 24 s.v. ἀθέμιτος).

[10:28]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “a Jewish man” (ἀνδρὶ ᾿Ιουδαίῳ, andri Ioudaiw).

[10:28]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “a foreigner,” but in this context, “a non-Jew,” that is, a Gentile. This term speaks of intimate association (BDAG 556 s.v. κολλάω 2.b.α). On this Jewish view, see John 18:28, where a visit to a Gentile residence makes a Jewish person unclean.

[10:28]  ²⁰ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo").

[10:28]  ²¹ tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqartos) here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts.

[10:29]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “Therefore when I was sent for.” The passive participle μεταπεμφθείς (metapemfqei") has been taken temporally and converted to an active construction which is less awkward in English.

[10:29]  ²⁰ tn Grk “ask for what reason.”

[10:30]  ²² 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.

[10:30]  ²³ tn Grk “said.”

[10:30]  ²⁴ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” Again, this is the hour of afternoon prayer.

[10:30]  ²⁵ 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.

[10:31]  ²⁵ tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”

[10:31]  ²⁶ sn This statement is a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation of Acts 10:4.

[10:32]  ²⁸ 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.

[10:33]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ tn Or “to hear everything.”

[10:33]  ³⁴ 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.