Acts 10:5-8

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.” 10:7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius ⁵  called two of his personal servants ⁶  and a devout soldier from among those who served him, ⁷  10:8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

[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.

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

[10:7]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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.