For the phrase about three o’clock one afternoon (literally “about the ninth hour of the day”), see 3.1. The fact that this was the regular hour of prayer stresses the piety of Cornelius.

For the term vision see 9.10, and for angel of God see 5.19.

In a number of languages the use of only the proper name as in the case of Cornelius would require a special verb of speaking, for example, “addressed him by name,” “called him by name,” or “spoke his name.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .