Acts 10:5-6

10:5 Now ¹  send men to Joppa ²  and summon a man named Simon, ³  who is called Peter. 10:6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, ⁴  whose house is by the sea.”

Acts 10:20

10:20 But get up, ⁵  go down, and accompany them without hesitation, ⁶  because I have sent them.”

Acts 10:32-48

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, ⁷  by the sea.’ 10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. ⁸  So now we are all here in the presence of God ⁹  to listen ¹⁰  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” ¹¹ 

10:34 Then Peter started speaking: ¹²  “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, ¹³  10:35 but in every nation ¹⁴  the person who fears him ¹⁵  and does what is right ¹⁶  is welcomed before him. 10:36 You know ¹⁷  the message ¹⁸  he sent to the people ¹⁹  of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace ²⁰  through ²¹  Jesus Christ ²²  (he is Lord ²³  of all) – 10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: ²⁴  10:38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, ²⁵  that ²⁶  God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He ²⁷  went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, ²⁸  because God was with him. ²⁹  10:39 We ³⁰  are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea ³¹  and in Jerusalem. ³²  They ³³  killed him by hanging him on a tree, ³⁴  10:40 but ³⁵  God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen, ³⁶  10:41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen, ³⁷  who ate and drank ³⁸  with him after he rose from the dead. 10:42 He ³⁹  commanded us to preach to the people and to warn ⁴⁰  them ⁴¹  that he is the one ⁴²  appointed ⁴³  by God as judge ⁴⁴  of the living and the dead. 10:43 About him all the prophets testify, ⁴⁵  that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins ⁴⁶  through his name.”

The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit

10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on ⁴⁷  all those who heard the message. ⁴⁸  10:45 The ⁴⁹  circumcised believers ⁵⁰  who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished ⁵¹  that ⁵²  the gift of the Holy Spirit ⁵³  had been poured out ⁵⁴  even on the Gentiles, 10:46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising ⁵⁵  God. Then Peter said, 10:47 “No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, ⁵⁶  can he?” ⁵⁷  10:48 So he gave orders to have them baptized ⁵⁸  in the name of Jesus Christ. ⁵⁹  Then they asked him to stay for several days.

Acts 11:12-18

11:12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers ⁶⁰  also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 11:13 He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, 11:14 who will speak a message ⁶¹  to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 11:15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on ⁶²  them just as he did ⁶³  on us at the beginning. ⁶⁴  11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, ⁶⁵  as he used to say, ⁶⁶  ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ⁶⁷  11:17 Therefore if God ⁶⁸  gave them the same gift ⁶⁹  as he also gave us after believing ⁷⁰  in the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁷¹  who was I to hinder ⁷²  God?” 11:18 When they heard this, ⁷³  they ceased their objections ⁷⁴  and praised ⁷⁵  God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance ⁷⁶  that leads to life even to the Gentiles.” ⁷⁷ 

Matthew 16:18-19

16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades ⁷⁸  will not overpower it. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”

[10:5]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Joppa was a seaport on the Philistine coast, in the same location as modern Jaffa.

[10:5]  ³ tn Grk “a certain Simon.”

[10:6]  ⁴ 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.

[10:20]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).

[10:32]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “to hear everything.”

[10:33]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ sn See Luke 24:47.

[10:35]  ¹⁵ tn Or “shows reverence for him.”

[10:35]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “the word.”

[10:36]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “to the sons.”

[10:36]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Or “by.”

[10:36]  ²² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[10:36]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Or “proclaimed.”

[10:38]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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]  ²⁸ tn The translation “healing all who were oppressed by the devil” is given in L&N 22.22.

[10:38]  ²⁹ sn See Acts 7:9.

[10:39]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:39]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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]  ³⁵ 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]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ tn Or “the witnesses God had previously chosen.” See Acts 1:8.

[10:41]  ³⁸ sn Ate and drank. See Luke 24:35-49.

[10:42]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Or “designated.” BDAG 723 s.v. ὁρίζω 2.b has “the one appointed by God as judge” for this phrase.

[10:42]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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]  ⁴⁶ 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.

[10:44]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “came down on.” God now acted to confirm the point of Peter’s speech.

[10:44]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “word.”

[10:45]  ⁴⁹ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

[10:45]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “The Jewish Christians”; Grk “The believers from the circumcision.”

[10:45]  ⁵¹ sn The Jewish Christians who were with Peter were greatly astonished because they thought the promise of the Spirit would be limited only to those of Israel. God’s plan was taking on fresh dimensions even as it was a reflection of what the prophets had promised.

[10:45]  ⁵² tn Or “because.”

[10:45]  ⁵³ tn That is, the gift consisting of the Holy Spirit. Here τοῦ πνεύματος (tou pneumato") is a genitive of apposition; the gift consists of the Spirit.

[10:45]  ⁵⁴ sn The gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out. Compare the account in Acts 2, especially 2:33. Note also Joel 2:17-21 and Acts 11:15-18.

[10:46]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “extolling,” “magnifying.”

[10:47]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “just as also we.” The auxiliary verb in English must be supplied. This could be either “have” (NIV, NRSV) or “did” (NASB). “Did” is preferred here because the comparison Peter is making concerns not just the fact of the present possession of the Spirit (“they received the Spirit we now possess”), but the manner in which the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house received the Spirit (“they received the Spirit in the same manner we did [on the day of Pentecost]”).

[10:47]  ⁵⁷ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “can he?” The question is rhetorical. Peter was saying these Gentiles should be baptized since God had confirmed they were his.

[10:48]  ⁵⁸ tn The Greek construction (passive infinitive with accusative subject) could be translated either “he ordered them to be baptized” or “he ordered that they be baptized,” but the implication in English in either case is that Peter was giving orders to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house, telling them to get baptized. It is much more likely in the context that Peter was ordering those Jewish Christians who accompanied him to baptize the new Gentile converts. They would doubtless have still had misgivings even after witnessing the outpouring of the Spirit and hearing the tongues. It took Peter’s apostolic authority (“ordered”) to convince them to perform the baptisms.

[10:48]  ⁵⁹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” Jesus’ right to judge as the provider of forgiveness is highlighted here.

[11:12]  ⁶⁰ sn Six witnesses is three times more than what would normally be required. They could confirm the events were not misrepresented by Peter.

[11:14]  ⁶¹ tn Grk “words” (ῥήματα, rJhmata), but in this context the overall message is meant rather than the individual words.

[11:15]  ⁶² tn Or “came down on.”

[11:15]  ⁶³ tn The words “he did” are not in the Greek text but are implied. They form an ellipsis which must be supplied for the modern English reader. Some modern translations supply “it” rather than “he” because the gender of πνεῦμα (pneuma) in Greek is neuter, but there are sufficient NT contexts that use masculine pronouns to refer to the Spirit to justify the use of a masculine pronoun here in the translation.

[11:15]  ⁶⁴ sn At the beginning is an allusion to Acts 2 and Pentecost. The beginning is a way to refer to the start of the period of the realization of Jesus’ promise in Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8. Peter was arguing that God gave Gentiles the same benefits he gave the Jews at the start of their mission.

[11:16]  ⁶⁵ sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; here and in Luke 22:61, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 15:35, 36; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.

[11:16]  ⁶⁶ tn The imperfect verb ἔλεγεν (elegen) is taken as a customary imperfect.

[11:16]  ⁶⁷ sn John…Spirit. This remark repeats Acts 1:5.

[11:17]  ⁶⁸ tc Codex Bezae (D) and {a few other Western witnesses} here lack ὁ θεός (Jo qeo", “God”), perhaps because these scribes considered the Holy Spirit to be the gift of Christ rather than the gift of God; thus leaving the subject implicit would naturally draw the reader back to v. 16 to see the Lord Jesus as the bestower of the Spirit.

[11:17]  ⁶⁹ sn That is, the same gift of the Holy Spirit.

[11:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Or “gave us when we believed”; or “gave us after we believed”; or “gave us who believed”; or “gave them when they believed the same gift as he also gave us.” The aorist dative plural participle πιστεύσασιν (pisteusasin) can be understood in several different ways: (1) It could modify ἡμῖν (Jhmin, “us”) or αὐτοῖς (autois, “them”). Proximity (it immediately follows ἡμῖν) would suggest that it belongs with ἡμῖν, so the last option (“gave them when they believed the same gift he also gave us”) is less likely. (2) The participle could be either adverbial or adjectival, modifying ἡμῖν. This decision is primarily a contextual one. The point Peter made is not whether or not the Gentiles believed, since both groups (“us” and “they”) had believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The point was whether or not the Gentiles received the Spirit when they believed, just as Jewish Christians had received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost when they believed. Translated as an adjectival participle, πιστεύσασιν only affirms the fact of belief, however, and raises somewhat of a theological problem if one realizes, “Would God have given the Gentiles the Spirit if they had not believed?” (In other words, belief in itself is a theological prerequisite for receiving the Spirit. As such, in the case of the Gentiles, it is assumed.) Thus in context it makes more sense to understand the participle πιστεύσασιν as adverbial, related to the time of belief in connection with the giving of the Spirit. (3) The participle πιστεύσασιν as a temporal participle can refer to action antecedent to the action of the main verb ἔδωκεν (edwken) or contemporaneous with it. Logically, at least, the gift of the Spirit followed belief in the case of the original Christians, who had believed before the day of Pentecost. In the case of Cornelius and his household, belief and the reception of the Spirit were virtually simultaneous. One can argue that Peter is “summarizing” the experience of Jewish Christians, and therefore the actions of belief and reception of the Spirit, while historically separate, have been “telescoped” into one (“gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed”), but to be technically accurate the participle πιστεύσασιν should be translated “gave them the same gift as he also gave us after we believed.” A number of these problems can be avoided, however, by using a translation in English that maintains some of the ambiguity of the Greek original. Thus “if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing” is used, where the phrase “after believing” can refer either to “them” or to “us,” or both.

[11:17]  ⁷¹ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[11:17]  ⁷² tn Or “prevent,” “forbid” (BDAG 580 s.v. κωλύω 1.a). Peter’s point is that he will not stand in the way of God.

[11:18]  ⁷³ tn Grk “these things.”

[11:18]  ⁷⁴ tn Or “became silent,” but this would create an apparent contradiction with the subsequent action of praising God. The point, in context, is that they ceased objecting to what Peter had done.

[11:18]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “glorified.”

[11:18]  ⁷⁶ sn Here the summary phrase for responding to the gospel is the repentance that leads to life. Note how the presence of life is tied to the presence of the Spirit (cf. John 4:7-42; 7:37-39).

[11:18]  ⁷⁷ sn In the Greek text the phrase even to the Gentiles is in an emphatic position.

[16:18]  ⁷⁸ tn Or “and the power of death” (taking the reference to the gates of Hades as a metonymy).