Acts 11
New King James Version
Peter Defends God’s Grace
11 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, (A)those of the circumcision contended with him, 3 saying, (B)“You went in to uncircumcised men (C)and ate with them!”
4 But Peter explained it to them (D)in order from the beginning, saying: 5 (E)“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. 6 When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ 10 Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. 11 At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. 12 Then (F)the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover (G)these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 (H)And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, 14 who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, (I)as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, (J)‘John indeed baptized with water, but (K)you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 (L)If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, (M)who was I that I could withstand God?”
18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, (N)“Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
Barnabas and Saul at Antioch
19 (O)Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. 20 But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to (P)the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And (Q)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and (R)turned to the Lord.
22 Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out (S)Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. 23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and (T)encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, (U)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. (V)And a great many people were added to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas departed for (W)Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Relief to Judea
27 And in these days (X)prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Then one of them, named (Y)Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of (Z)Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send (AA)relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 (AB)This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 11
Good News Translation
Peter's Report to the Church at Jerusalem
11 The apostles and the other believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 When Peter went to Jerusalem, those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles criticized him, saying, 3 “You were a guest in the home of uncircumcised Gentiles, and you even ate with them!” 4 So Peter gave them a complete account of what had happened from the very beginning:
5 “While I was praying in the city of Joppa, I had a vision. I saw something coming down that looked like a large sheet being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it stopped next to me. 6 I looked closely inside and saw domesticated and wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. 7 Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’ 8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! No ritually unclean or defiled food has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 The voice spoke again from heaven, ‘Do not consider anything unclean that God has declared clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and finally the whole thing was drawn back up into heaven. 11 At that very moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was[a] staying. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without hesitation. These six fellow believers from Joppa accompanied me to Caesarea, and we all went into the house of Cornelius. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send someone to Joppa for a man whose full name is Simon Peter. 14 He will speak words to you by which you and all your family will be saved.’ 15 And when I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 (A)Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 It is clear that God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; who was I, then, to try to stop God!”
18 When they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God, saying, “Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!”
The Church at Antioch
19 (B)Some of the believers who were scattered by the persecution which took place when Stephen was killed went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message to Jews only. 20 But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and proclaimed the message to Gentiles[b] also, telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's power was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 The news about this reached the church in Jerusalem, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad and urged them all to be faithful and true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and many people were brought to the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he took him to Antioch, and for a whole year the two met with the people of the church and taught a large group. It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.
27 About that time some prophets went from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 (C)One of them, named Agabus, stood up and by the power of the Spirit predicted that a severe famine was about to come over all the earth. (It came when Claudius was emperor.) 29 The disciples decided that they each would send as much as they could to help their fellow believers who lived in Judea. 30 They did this, then, and sent the money to the church elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Footnotes
- Acts 11:11 I was; some manuscripts have we were.
- Acts 11:20 Gentiles; some manuscripts have Greek-speaking Jews or Greek-speaking people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
