Discovery BoxActs 10:30 
Context10:30 Cornelius 1 replied, 2 “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, 3 I was praying in my house, and suddenly 4 a man in shining clothing stood before me
Acts 20:3
Context20:3 where he stayed 5 for three months. Because the Jews had made 6 a plot 7 against him as he was intending 8 to sail 9 for Syria, he decided 10 to return through Macedonia. 11
Acts 28:7
Context28:7 Now in the region around that place 12 were fields belonging to the chief official 13 of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days.
Acts 28:15
Context28:15 The brothers from there, 14 when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius 15 and Three Taverns 16 to meet us. When he saw them, 17 Paul thanked God and took courage.
1 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.
2 tn Grk “said.”
3 tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” Again, this is the hour of afternoon prayer.
4 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.
5 tn BDAG 841 s.v. ποιέω 5.c, “w. an acc. of time spend, stay.”
6 tn The participle βενομένης (benomenh") has been translated as a causal adverbial participle. L&N 30.71 has “ἐπιβουλῆς αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿Ιουδαίων ‘because the Jews had made a plot against him’ Ac 20:3.”
7 sn This plot is one of several noted by Luke (Acts 9:20; 20:19; 23:30).
8 tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”
9 tn BDAG 62 s.v. ἀνάγω 4 gives “put out to sea” here (as a nautical technical term). However, since the English expression “put out to sea” could be understood to mean Paul was already aboard the ship (which is not clear from the context), the simpler expression “sail” is used at this point in the translation.
10 tn BDAG 199 s.v. γίνομαι 7 has “ἐγένετο γνώμης he decided Ac 20:3.”
11 sn Macedonia was the Roman province of Macedonia in Greece.
12 tn BDAG 798 s.v. περί 2.a.γ states, “of nearby places…τὰ περὶ τὸν τὸπον the region around the place Ac 28:7.” The presence of ἐκεῖνον (ekeinon) results in the translation “that place.”
13 tn That is, the chief Roman official. Several inscriptions have confirmed the use of πρῶτος (prwtos) as an administrative title used on the island of Malta for the highest Roman official. See further BDAG 852 s.v. Πόπλιος.
14 sn Mention of Christian brothers from there (Rome) shows that God’s message had already spread as far as Italy and the capital of the empire.
15 sn The Forum of Appius was a small traveler’s stop on the Appian Way about 43 mi (71 km) south of Rome (BDAG 125 s.v. ᾿Αππίου φόρον). It was described by Horace as “crammed with boatmen and stingy tavernkeepers” (Satires 1.5.3).
16 sn Three Taverns was a stop on the Appian Way 33 mi (55 km) south of Rome.
17 tn Grk “whom, when he saw [them], Paul.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the personal pronoun (“them”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.
