Acts 11
King James Version
11 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God.
2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
3 Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
4 But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying,
5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
6 Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.
11 And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.
12 And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house:
13 And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter;
14 Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17 Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.
29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 11
International Children’s Bible
Peter Returns to Jerusalem
11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. 2 But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers argued with him. 3 They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised! You even ate with them!”
4 So Peter explained the whole story to them. 5 He said, “I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, I had a vision. In the vision, I saw something which looked like a big sheet coming down from heaven. It was being lowered to earth by its four corners. It came down very close to me, and 6 I looked inside it. I saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. 7 I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ 9 But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things clean. Don’t call them unholy!’ 10 This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back to heaven. 11 Right then three men came to the house where I was staying. They were sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without doubting. These six believers here also went with me. We went to the house of Cornelius. 13 He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and invite Simon Peter to come. 14 He will speak to you. The things he will say will save you and all your family.’ 15 When I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit!’ 17 God gave to them the same gift that he gave to us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So could I stop the work of God? No!”
18 When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing the non-Jewish people also to turn to him and live.”
The Good News Comes to Antioch
19 Many of the believers were scattered by the terrible things that happened after Stephen was killed. Some of them went to places as far away as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. They were telling the message to others, but only to Jews. 20 Some of these believers were men from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to Greeks,[a] telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord was helping the believers. And a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23-24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch. He told them, “Never lose your faith. Always obey the Lord with all your hearts.” Many people became followers of the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. And for a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church. They taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time.
27 About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them was named Agabus. He stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, “A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food for people to eat.” (This happened when Claudius ruled.) 29 The followers all decided to help their brothers who lived in Judea. Each one planned to send them as much as he could. 30 They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea.
Footnotes
- 11:20 Greeks Some Greek copies read “Hellenists,” non-Greeks who spoke Greek.
Acts 11
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 11
Peter’s Explanation of Cornelius’ Baptism. 1 The apostles and the brethren in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. 2 Therefore, when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers protested to him, 3 saying, “Why did you enter the house of uncircumcised men and eat with them?”
4 Peter replied by explaining the facts to them step by step, saying, 5 “While I was praying one day in the city of Joppa, I fell into a trance and had a vision. I saw something like a large sheet lowered down from heaven by its four corners, and it landed close to me.
6 “I looked into it carefully and observed four-footed animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord. For nothing profane or unclean has ever been in my mouth.’ 9 But the voice spoke to me from heaven for a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was taken up into heaven again.
11 “At that very moment, three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 The Spirit instructed me to go with them without any hesitation. These six brethren also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house who said, ‘Send to Joppa and ask for Simon who is also called Peter. 14 He will give you a message that will grant salvation to you and your entire household.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit descended upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning, 16 and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to oppose God?”
18 When they heard this, they held their peace, and they praised God, saying, “God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”
19 A Church at Antioch.[a] Meanwhile, those who had scattered after the persecution that arose because of Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia,[b] Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word only to Jews. 20 However, among them there were some natives of Cyprus and Cyrene who went to Antioch where they started preaching also to the Greeks, proclaiming to them the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of them became believers and turned to the Lord.
22 News of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and perceived the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord with resolute devotion, 24 for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith. And a large number of people were added to the Lord.
25 Barnabas then went to Tarsus[c] to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Threats against the Church[d]
27 A Famine in the World.[e] During these days, some prophets[f] came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a severe famine would afflict the entire world. This in fact occurred during the reign of Claudius. 29 The disciples decided to send relief to the brethren living in Judea, each according to his means. 30 This they did, delivering it to the elders[g] through Barnabas and Saul.
Footnotes
- Acts 11:19 The narrative picks up the story of persecution (see Acts 8:14). But we leave the coast of Palestine for a region some 300 miles further north. A new Church enters the picture, that of Antioch, where Barnabas is encouraging the converts from paganism.
In Antioch, the name Christian is used for the first time (v. 26), and it will henceforth be used by all the disciples of the Lord for the community in the service of the Lord. - Acts 11:19 Phoenicia: a land 15 miles wide and 120 miles long on the northeastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, with Tyre and Sidon as its principal cities. Cyprus: the island home of Barnabas (see Acts 4:36), located in the northeastern Mediterranean, 60 miles from Syria. Antioch: the third most important city (after Rome and Alexandria) of the Roman Empire, located in Syria, in the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. It was from the Church of Antioch that Paul’s three missionary journeys were launched (see Acts 13:1-4; 15:40; 18:23).
- Acts 11:25 Tarsus: see note on Acts 9:30.
- Acts 11:27 Calamities strike the Church—famine, persecution, political conflicts. This corresponds to the description of the signs of the last times in Luke (21:9-13). As the Gospel says, it is not the time of the end but the time of perseverance. When the signs of crisis are manifested in the world, believers testify to the hope and the effort for a change. The Church emerges from these threats with tranquil joy and humility. This account brings to a close the first twelve chapters of Acts.
- Acts 11:27 A collection is organized in the Church. The action is an application of one of the essential elements of the community: the sharing of goods, which gives a new meaning to economic property. Paul will regard this kind of mutual help as very important (see Rom 15:31; 1 Cor 16:15; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:1, 12-13; Gal 2:10).
- Acts 11:27 Prophets: the first mention of the gift of prophecy in this Book. Prophets are to preach, exhort, explain, or predict (see Acts 13:1; 15:32; 19:6; 21:9f; Rom 12:6; 1 Cor 12:10; 13:2-8).
- Acts 11:30 Elders: collaborators of the apostles, or substitutes for them (see Acts 20:17f).
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