Acts 10:22

10:22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion, ¹  a righteous ²  and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, ³  was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message ⁴  from you.”

Acts 22:25

22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, ⁵  Paul said to the centurion ⁶  standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen ⁷  without a proper trial?” ⁸ 

Acts 23:18

23:18 So the centurion ⁹  took him and brought him to the commanding officer ¹⁰  and said, “The prisoner Paul called ¹¹  me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

Acts 27:43

27:43 But the centurion, ¹²  wanting to save Paul’s life, ¹³  prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, ¹⁴ 

---

¹ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

² tn Or “just.”

³ tn The phrase τοῦ ἔθνους τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων (tou eqnou" twn Ioudaiwn) is virtually a technical term for the Jewish nation (1 Macc 10:25; 11:30, 33; Josephus, Ant. 14.10.22 [14.248]). “All the Jewish people,” while another possible translation of the Greek phrase, does not convey the technical sense of a reference to the nation in English.

sn The long introduction of Cornelius by his messengers is an attempt to commend this Gentile to his Jewish counterpart, which would normally be important to do in the culture of the time.

⁴ tn Grk “hear words.”

⁵ tn Grk “for the thongs” (of which the lash was made). Although often translated as a dative of means (“with thongs”), referring to thongs used to tie the victim to the whipping post, BDAG 474-75 s.v. ἱμάς states that it “is better taken as a dat. of purpose for the thongs, in which case οἱ ἱμάντες = whips (Posidonius: 87 fgm. 5 Jac.; POxy. 1186, 2 τὴν διὰ τῶν ἱμάντων αἰκείαν. – Antiphanes 74, 8, Demosth. 19, 197 and Artem. 1, 70 use the sing. in this way).”

⁶ sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

⁷ tn The word “citizen” is supplied here for emphasis and clarity.

⁸ tn Or “a Roman citizen and uncondemned.” BDAG 35 s.v. ἀκατάκριτος has “uncondemned, without due process” for this usage.

sn The fact that Paul was a Roman citizen protected him from being tortured to extract information; such protections were guaranteed by the Porcian and Julian law codes. In addition, the fact Paul had not been tried exempted him from punishment.

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the centurion) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “the chiliarch” (an officer in command of a thousand soldiers). See note on the term “commanding officer” in v. 10.

¹¹ tn Grk “calling.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesameno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹² sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.

¹³ tn Or “wanting to rescue Paul.”

sn Thanks to the centurion who wanted to save Paul’s life, Paul was once more rescued from a potential human threat.

¹⁴ tn BDAG 347 s.v. I. ἔξειμι has “ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν get to land Ac 27:43.”