Three days ago (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Phillips, Moffatt, An American Translation*, Zürcher Bibel, Knox) is “four days ago” in many translations (Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, Barclay, Luther). There is no textual difference but only a difference of interpretation of the Greek phrase “from the fourth day.” Cornelius means that this was the fourth day from the day on which the angel had appeared to him (see vv. 7, 9, 23, 24). There is a difference, however, between the meaning of the Greek expression “from four days ago” and the English expression “four days ago.” If, for example, on a Friday we were to say “four days ago” we would mean Monday; but in New Testament times this phrase would mean Tuesday, for it would include in its calculation Friday itself. The correct English equivalent therefore is three days ago. In a number of languages, however, the New Testament system of reckoning is employed and therefore a translation “four days ago” would be appropriate. The particular form of this reference to time depends upon the usage in the receptor language. It is assumed by most commentators and translators that about this time is a correct rendering of the Greek phrase “until this hour” (though some exegetes assume that it is a precise temporal reference, “exactly”) and that it modifies the adverbial expression three days ago. At three o’clock in the afternoon is literally the “ninth hour” (see 3.1).

Three o’clock in the afternoon was the time for the afternoon prayers; hence the New English Bible has “I was in the house here saying the afternoon prayers.” Some manuscripts have “praying and fasting” (Good News Translation praying), and some scholars believe that the verb “fasting” was deleted from the present verse because some scribe recognized that nothing had been said in the previous account about Cornelius’ fasting. However, it is more likely that the words were added by a scribe who believed that fasting should come before baptism (see 9.9).

A man dressed in shining clothes is, of course, an angel (see 1.10).

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 .