Discovery BoxActs 10:4 
Context10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius 1 replied, 2 “What is it, Lord?” The angel 3 said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity 4 have gone up as a memorial 5 before God.
Acts 10:22
Context10:22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion, 6 a righteous 7 and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, 8 was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message 9 from you.”
Acts 10:31
Context10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity 10 have been remembered before God. 11
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Cornelius) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “said,” but in response to the angel’s address, “replied” is better English style.
3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”
5 sn The language used in the expression gone up as a memorial before God parallels what one would say of acceptable sacrifices (Ps 141:2; Sir 35:6; 50:16).
6 sn See the note on the word centurion in 10:1.
7 tn Or “just.”
8 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.
9 tn Grk “hear words.”
10 tn Or “your gifts to the needy.”
11 sn This statement is a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation of Acts 10:4.
