ACT 10:24-33

Peter Visits Cornelius

24On the following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. [10:25] When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and prostrated himself. [10:26] Peter raised him, saying, "Stand up — I myself am also a man." [10:27] Conversing with him, he went in and found many gathered. [10:28] He said to them, "You yourselves know how it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with or approach one of another nation. Yet God has shown me that I must not call any person ritually impure or unclean. [10:29] That is why I came without objection when summoned. So I ask — for what reason did you summon me?" [10:30] Cornelius said, "Four days ago at this hour I was praying the ninth-hour prayer in my house, and a man stood before me in shining clothing [10:31] and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. [10:32] Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter — he is being lodged in the house of Simon a tanner, by the sea.' [10:33] So immediately I sent to you, and you have done well to come. Now then, we are all here before God to hear all the things commanded to you by the Lord."

In the world it was spoken into

In the Roman world, social hierarchies and honor-shame dynamics were deeply ingrained. Cornelius, a Roman centurion and God-fearer, would have been acutely aware of his status as a Gentile outsider in Jewish religious terms. His prostration before Peter reflects not necessarily worship but a gesture of profound respect, typical when addressing someone perceived as a superior or divine emissary. Peter’s response, 'I myself am also a man,' underscores the Jewish-Christian tension around divine honors and human equality. The gathering of Cornelius’s relatives and close friends mirrors Roman household patronage, where a host’s social network would witness significant events. Peter’s acknowledgment of Jewish purity laws (, , ) highlights the cultural-religious boundary separating Jews from Gentiles, rooted in Torah prohibitions against association with 'unclean' outsiders. This encounter challenges these boundaries, framed by divine intervention and Cornelius’s piety, signaling a shift in the early Christian community’s understanding of inclusion.

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How other translations render this

ACT 10:24

KJV: And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and he had called together his kinsmen and near friends.
BSB: The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.
Koinōnos: On the following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

ACT 10:25

KJV: And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.
BSB: As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
Koinōnos: When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and prostrated himself.

ACT 10:26

KJV: But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.
BSB: But Peter helped him up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
Koinōnos: Peter raised him, saying, "Stand up — I myself am also a man.

ACT 10:27

KJV: And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.
BSB: As Peter talked with him, he went inside and found many people gathered together.
Koinōnos: Conversing with him, he went in and found many gathered.

ACT 10:28

KJV: And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
BSB: He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
Koinōnos: He said to them, "You yourselves know how it is unlawful for a Jewish man to associate with or approach one of another nation. Yet God has shown me that I must not call any person ritually impure or unclean.

ACT 10:29

KJV: Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?
BSB: So when I was invited, I came without objection. I ask, then, why have you sent for me?”
Koinōnos: That is why I came without objection when summoned. So I ask — for what reason did you summon me?

ACT 10:30

KJV: And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,
BSB: Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
Koinōnos: Cornelius said, "Four days ago at this hour I was praying the ninth-hour prayer in my house, and a man stood before me in shining clothing

ACT 10:31

KJV: And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.
BSB: and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.
Koinōnos: and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

ACT 10:32

KJV: Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.
BSB: Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’
Koinōnos: Send therefore to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter — he is being lodged in the house of Simon a tanner, by the sea.

ACT 10:33

KJV: Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.
BSB: So I sent for you immediately, and you were kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has instructed you to tell us.”
Koinōnos: So immediately I sent to you, and you have done well to come. Now then, we are all here before God to hear all the things commanded to you by the Lord.

Only verses where the wording diverges meaningfully are shown. Identical phrasings are suppressed.

Translator's notes

ACT 10:25

worshiped [him].:The word translated 'worshiped' here describes an act of profound reverence, often involving prostrating oneself before a superior or deity, acknowledging their supreme authority or divine status.

ACT 10:28

unlawful:The term translated 'unlawful' refers to something forbidden by custom, tradition, or religious law, rather than strictly by civil or governmental statutes.
common:The word translated 'common' here carries the sense of something ritually impure or profane, not just something shared or ordinary. It implies a state that makes one unfit for sacred activities.
unclean:The word translated 'unclean' refers to a state of ritual impurity, making a person or object unfit for religious practices or contact with holy things, rather than merely being physically dirty.