Acts 7:49

7:49 ‘Heaven is my throne,

and earth is the footstool for my feet.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is my resting place? 1 

Acts 10:33

10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. 2  So now we are all here in the presence of God 3  to listen 4  to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.” 5 

1 sn What kind…resting place? The rhetorical questions suggest mere human beings cannot build a house to contain God.

2 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).

3 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.

4 tn Or “to hear everything.”

5 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.