Acts 10-12

New American Standard Bible

Cornelius’ Vision

10 Now there was a man in ^(A)Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^(B)called the Italian ^[a]cohort, ² a devout man and ^(C)one who feared God with all his household, and ^(D)made many charitable contributions to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. ³ About ^(E)the ^[b]ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ^(F)in a vision ^(G)an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And he ^(H)looked at him intently and became terrified, and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and charitable gifts ^(I)have ascended ^(J)as a memorial offering before God. ⁵ Now dispatch some men to ^(K)Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶ he is staying with a tanner named ^(L)Simon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who *spoke to him left, he summoned two of his ^[c]servants and a devout soldier from his personal attendants, ⁸ and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to ^(M)Joppa.

⁹ On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^(N)Peter went up on ^(O)the ^[d]housetop about ^[e](P)the sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰ But he became hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were making preparations, he ^(Q)fell into a trance; ¹¹ and he *saw ^(R)the sky opened up, and an ^[f]object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, ¹² and on it were all kinds of four-footed animals and ^[g]crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the sky. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, ^[h]kill and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, ^(S)Lord, for ^(T)I have never eaten anything ^[i]unholy and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “^(U)What God has cleansed, no longer ^[j]consider unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the ^[k]object was taken up into the sky.

¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ^[l]mind as to what ^(V)the vision which he had seen might ^[m]mean, behold, ^(W)the men who had been sent by Cornelius had asked directions to Simon’s house, and they appeared at the gate; ¹⁸ and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was reflecting on ^(X)the vision, ^(Y)the Spirit said to him, “Behold, ^[n]three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs and ^(Z)accompany them ^[o]without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” ²¹ Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” ²² They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and ^(AA)God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^(AB)was divinely directed by a ^(AC)holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear ^[p](AD)a message from you.” ²³ So he invited them in and gave them lodging.

Peter in Caesarea

Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and ^(AE)some of ^(AF)the brothers from ^(AG)Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ On the following day he entered ^(AH)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and ^[q](AI)worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter helped him up, saying, “^(AJ)Stand up; I, too, am just a man.” ²⁷ As he talked with him, he entered and *found ^(AK)many people assembled. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is ^(AL)forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a ^[r]foreigner; and yet ^(AM)God has shown me that I am not to call any person ^[s]unholy or unclean. ²⁹ That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “^(AN)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^(AO)the ^[t]ninth hour; and behold, ^(AP)a man stood before me in shining clothing, ³¹ and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God. ³² Therefore send some men to ^(AQ)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent men to you immediately, and you have ^[u]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear Good News

^34 (AR)Opening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most certainly understand now that ^(AS)God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but ^(AT)in every nation the one who ^[v](AU)fears Him and ^[w]does what is right is acceptable to Him. ³⁶ The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^(AV)preaching ^[x](AW)peace through Jesus Christ (He is ^(AX)Lord of all)— ³⁷ you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ^38 [y]You know of ^(AY)Jesus of Nazareth, how God ^(AZ)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^[z](BA)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^(BB)God was with Him. ³⁹ We are ^(BC)witnesses of all the things that He did both in the ^[aa]country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on ^[ab](BD)a cross. ^40 (BE)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He ^[ac]be revealed, ^41 (BF)not to all the people, but to ^(BG)witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^(BH)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ^(BI)ordered us to ^[ad]preach to the people, and to ^(BJ)testify solemnly that this is the One who has been ^(BK)appointed by God as ^(BL)Judge of the living and the dead. ^43 (BM)All the prophets testify of Him, that through ^(BN)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, ^(BO)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the ^[ae]message. ^45 (BP)All the ^[af]Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been ^(BQ)poured out on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them ^(BR)speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded, ⁴⁷ “^(BS)Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who ^(BT)have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” ⁴⁸ And he ^(BU)ordered them to be baptized ^(BV)in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.

Peter Reports in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and ^(BW)the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^[ag](BX)the Jewish believers took issue with him, ³ saying, “^(BY)You ^[ah]went to ^[ai]uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began and explained at length to them ^(BZ)in an orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “^(CA)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^(CB)a vision, an ^[aj]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, ⁶ and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the ^[ak]crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; ^[al]kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing ^[am]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^(CC)What God has cleansed, no longer ^[an]consider unholy.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. ¹¹ And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from ^(CD)Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. ^12 (CE)And the Spirit told me to go with them ^(CF)without ^[ao]misgivings. ^(CG)These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he reported to us how he had seen the angel ^[ap]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; ¹⁴ and he will speak ^(CH)words to you by which you will be saved, you and ^(CI)all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, ^(CJ)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^(CK)as He did upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^(CL)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized ^[aq]with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Therefore, if ^(CM)God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^(CN)who was I that I could ^[ar]stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they ^[as]quieted down and ^(CO)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the ^(CP)repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

^19 (CQ)So then those who were scattered because of the ^[at]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ^[au]to ^(CR)Phoenicia, ^(CS)Cyprus, and ^(CT)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men of ^(CU)Cyprus and ^(CV)Cyrene, who came to ^(CW)Antioch and began speaking to the ^[av](CX)Greeks as well, ^(CY)preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(CZ)the hand of the Lord was with them, and ^(DA)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. ²² The ^[aw]news about them ^[ax]reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent ^(DB)Barnabas off ^[ay]to ^(DC)Antioch. ²³ Then when he arrived and ^[az]witnessed ^(DD)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with ^[ba]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; ²⁴ for he was a good man, and ^(DE)full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And ^[bb](DF)considerable numbers were added to the Lord. ²⁵ And he left for ^(DG)Tarsus to look for Saul; ²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him to ^(DH)Antioch. And for an entire year they ^[bc]met with the church and taught ^[bd]considerable numbers of people; and ^(DI)the disciples were first called ^(DJ)Christians in ^(DK)Antioch.

²⁷ Now ^[be]at this time some ^(DL)prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^(DM)Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named ^(DN)Agabus, stood up and ^[bf]indicated ^[bg]by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine ^(DO)all over the ^[bh]world. ^[bi]And this took place in the reign of ^(DP)Claudius. ²⁹ And to the extent that any of ^(DQ)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the ^[bj]relief of ^(DR)the brothers and sisters living in Judea. ^30 (DS)And they did this, sending it ^[bk]with ^(DT)Barnabas and Saul to the ^(DU)elders.

Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance

12 Now about that time ^[bl]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. ² And he ^(DV)had James the brother of John ^(DW)executed with a sword. ³ When he saw that it ^(DX)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were ^[bm](DY)the days of Unleavened Bread.) ⁴ When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four ^[bn](DZ)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after ^(EA)the Passover to bring him before the people. ⁵ So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God ^[bo]intensely by the church.

⁶ On ^[bp]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^(EB)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, ^(EC)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(ED)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^(EE)his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and ^[bq]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” ⁹ And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^(EF)a vision. ¹⁰ Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^(EG)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. ¹¹ When Peter ^(EH)came ^[br]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^(EI)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^[bs]that the Jewish people were expecting.” ¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(EJ)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^(EK)were praying. ¹³ When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^(EL)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^(EM)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. ¹⁵ They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is ^(EN)his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ But ^(EO)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^[bt](EP)James and ^(EQ)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to ^[bu]what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^(ER)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^(ES)Caesarea and was spending time there.

Death of Herod

²⁰ Now he was very angry with the people of ^(ET)Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^(EU)their country was supported with grain from the king’s country. ²¹ On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the ^[bv]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ And immediately ^(EV)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and ^[bw]died.

²⁴ But ^(EW)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

²⁵ And ^(EX)Barnabas and ^(EY)Saul returned ^(EZ)when they had fulfilled their ^[bx]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them ^(FA)John, who was also called Mark.