These men may be either the eleven (Peter does not seem to include himself among those who are thought to be drunk) or the larger group of the one hundred and twenty. The first part of verse 15 may be rendered in some languages as “you think these men are drunk, but they are not.”

Nine o’clock in the morning is literally in the Greek “the third hour of the day.” The first hour of the day was six o’clock in the morning, and the third hour of the day was nine o’clock in the morning. This was the hour of prayer for the Jews; breakfast would be eaten at ten o’clock in the morning. The point that Peter makes is that since the men had not yet eaten, they could not possibly be drunk.

The reason given for not believing that the men were drunk, namely, that it was only nine o’clock in the morning, may not be very convincing in many societies, but the reason must be given as Peter gave it. However, it may be quite useful to have a marginal note at this point, indicating that Jews normally ate only after the time of morning prayer at nine o’clock.

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 .