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The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
Acts 10:9 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon.
  • KJV On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
  • NKJV The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour.
  • NASB On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
  • NLT The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

As the men approached, Peter went up to pray at noon. God prepares Peter through prayer for what is coming.

Overview

While Cornelius's messengers near the city, Peter seeks the Lord on the rooftop. This habit of prayer positions him to receive the vision God is about to give. The careful timing shows the Lord coordinating both men for their appointed meeting.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • Zeph 1:5those who bow on the rooftops to worship the host of heaven, those who bow down and swear by the LORD but also swear by Milcom,
  • Ps 55:17Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
  • Dan 6:10Now when Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house, where the windows of his upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
  • Jer 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
  • Mark 6:46After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
  • Matt 27:45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.
  • Acts 10:8–32He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa.
  • 1 Sam 9:25And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house.
  • Jer 32:29And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to Baal on their rooftops and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.
  • Matt 24:17Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.
  • Acts 6:4and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
  • Acts 11:5–14“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.
  • Mark 1:35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
  • Matt 6:6But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
  • Matt 20:5So they went. He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
  • Eph 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
  • 1 Tim 2:8Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 10:9YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 10:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.