Acts 11
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
11 And the apostles and brethren, who were in Judea, heard that the Gentiles also had 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: Why didst thou go in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them?
4 But Peter began and declared to them the matter in order, saying:
5 I was in the city of Joppe praying, and I saw in an ecstasy of mind a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even unto me.
6 Into which looking, I considered, and saw fourfooted creatures of the earth, and beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air:
7 And I heard also a voice saying to me: Arise, Peter; kill and eat.
8 And I said: Not so, Lord; for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.
9 And the voice answered again from heaven: What God hath made clean, do not thou call common.
10 And this was done three times: and all were taken up again into heaven.
11 And behold, immediately there were three men come to the house wherein I was, sent to me from Caesarea.
12 And the Spirit said to me, that I should go with them, nothing doubting. And these six brethren went with me also: and we entered into the man's house.
13 And he told us how he had seen an angel in his house, standing, and saying to him: Send to Joppe, and call hither Simon, who is surnamed Peter,
14 Who shall speak to thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, and all thy house.
15 And when I had begun to speak, the Holy Ghost fell upon them, as upon us also in the beginning.
16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how that he said: John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
17 If then God gave them the same grace, as to us also who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ; who was I, that could withstand God?
18 Having heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying: God then hath also to the Gentiles given repentance unto life.
19 Now they who had been dispersed by the persecution that arose on occasion of Stephen, went about as far as Phenice and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none, but to the Jews only.
20 But some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were entered into Antioch, spoke also to the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.
21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believing, were converted to the Lord.
22 And the tidings came to the ears of the church that was at Jerusalem, touching these things: and they sent Barnabas as far as Antioch.
23 Who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, rejoiced: and he exhorted them all with purpose of heart to continue in the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. And a great multitude was added to the Lord.
25 And Barnabas went to Tarsus to seek Saul: whom, when he had found, he brought to Antioch.
26 And they conversed there in the church a whole year; and they taught a great multitude, so that at Antioch the disciples were first named Christians.
27 And in these days there came prophets from Jerusalem to Antioch:
28 And one of them named Agabus, rising up, signified by the Spirit, that there should be a great famine over the whole world, which came to pass under Claudius.
29 And the disciples, every man according to his ability, purposed to send relief to the brethren who dwelt in Judea:
30 Which also they did, sending it to the ancients, by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts 11
GOD’S WORD Translation
Peter Reports That Non-Jewish People Can Belong to the Church
11 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that people who were not Jewish had accepted God’s word. 2 However, when Peter went to Jerusalem, the believers who insisted on circumcision began to argue with him. 3 They said, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised, and you even ate with them.”
4 Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, 5 “I was praying in the city of Joppa when I fell into a trance. I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners from the sky. The sheet came near me. 6 I looked into the sheet very closely and saw tame animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds. 7 I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.’
8 “But I answered, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never put anything impure or unclean [a] into my mouth.’
9 “A voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Don’t say that the things which God has made clean [b] are impure.’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back into the sky again.
11 “At that moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to find me. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without any hesitation. Six believers ⌞from Joppa⌟ went with me, and we visited Cornelius’ home.
13 “He told us that he had seen an angel standing in his home. The angel told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter. 14 He will give you a message that will save you and everyone in your home.’
15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came to these people. This was the same thing that happened to us in the beginning. 16 I remembered that the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.’ 17 When they believed, God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to interfere with God?”
18 When the others heard this, they had no further objections. They praised God by saying, “Then God has also led people who are not Jewish to turn to him so that they can change the way they think and act and have eternal life.”
The New Church in Antioch
19 Some of the believers who were scattered by the trouble that broke out following Stephen’s death went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and the city of Antioch. They spoke God’s word only to Jewish people. 20 But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, arrived in Antioch. They started to spread the Good News about the Lord Jesus to Greeks. 21 The Lord’s power was with his followers, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 After the news about Antioch reached the church in Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to Antioch. 23 When he arrived there, he was pleased to see what God had done for them out of kindness.[c] So he encouraged all the people to remain solidly committed to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a dependable man, and he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. A large crowd believed in the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas left Antioch to go to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 After finding Saul, Barnabas brought him back to Antioch. Barnabas and Saul met with the church in Antioch for a whole year and taught a large group of people. The disciples were called Christians for the first time in the city of Antioch.
27 At that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to the city of Antioch. 28 One of them was named Agabus. Through the Spirit Agabus predicted that a severe famine would affect the entire world. This happened while Claudius was emperor. 29 All the disciples in Antioch decided to contribute whatever they could afford to help the believers living in Judea. 30 The disciples did this and sent their contribution with Barnabas and Saul to the leaders ⌞in Jerusalem⌟.
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