Religious translates a word which comes from the same root as the word rendered godliness in 3.12; it appears also in verse 7, and refers to a person who was “pious,” “devout,” or “godly.” He … worshiped God translates a technical expression denoting Gentiles who had accepted certain aspects of the Jewish religion without becoming full converts; that is, they had not undergone circumcision. This term occurs also in verse 22 and 13.16, 26. Cornelius was evidently a devout Gentile, who worshiped the God of the Jews and devoted himself to certain pious Jewish activities, such as prayer and the giving of money to the poor.

In many languages a translation of the word religious is equivalent to “worship God.” The full expression, therefore, may be “he faithfully worshiped God” or “he constantly worshiped God.” This must, of course, also be expanded to include both Cornelius and his whole family, a phrase which would normally include not only members of his immediate family, but also members of the household including permanent servants and slaves.

He did much to help the Jewish poor people (see New English Bible “he gave generously to help the Jewish people” and Jerusalem Bible “he gave generously to Jewish causes”) accurately translates the meaning of the expression “he gave many alms to the people.” “Alms” are, of course, gifts given to poor people; and “the people” is a term used in the Septuagint and throughout the New Testament to refer specifically to the Jewish people.

The term constantly is not to be taken in the sense of “continuously without interruption” for obviously Cornelius had to carry out his responsibilities and duties as a Roman soldier. In attempting to do justice to this term in Greek, some translators have used “regularly” or “consistently.” In some languages a form of the verb expressing habitual action is an effective equivalent. Barclay has employed the translation “constant in private prayer to God” but this is perhaps reading somewhat too much into the meaning of the verb.

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 .