Peter Explains His Actions

11 The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that Gentiles had also received God’s word. ² Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him. ³ They said, “You went into the house of Gentiles. You ate with them.”

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story. ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying,” he said. “There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was. ⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds. ⁷ Then I heard a voice speaking to me. ‘Get up, Peter,’ the voice said. ‘Kill and eat.’

⁸ “I replied, ‘No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and “clean” has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹ “A second time the voice spoke from heaven. The voice said, ‘Do not say anything is not pure that God has made “clean.” ’