Peter Reports in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and (A)the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, [a](B)the Jewish believers took issue with him, saying, “(C)You [b]went to [c]uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained at length to them (D)in an orderly sequence, saying, (E)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw (F)a vision, an [d]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the [e]crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; [f]kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing [g]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘(G)What God has cleansed, no longer [h]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 (H)Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. 12 (I)And the Spirit told me to go with them (J)without [i]misgivings. (K)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 [j]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 (L)words to you by which you will be saved, you and (M)all your household.’ 15 And as I began to speak, (N)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just (O)as He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, (P)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [k]with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore, if (Q)God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, (R)who was I that I could [l]stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they [m]quieted down and (S)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the (T)repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

19 (U)So then those who were scattered because of the [n]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [o]to (V)Phoenicia, (W)Cyprus, and (X)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (Y)Cyprus and (Z)Cyrene, who came to (AA)Antioch and began speaking to the [p](AB)Greeks as well, (AC)preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And (AD)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (AE)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The [q]news about them [r]reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent (AF)Barnabas off [s]to (AG)Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and [t]witnessed (AH)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [u]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (AI)full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And [v](AJ)considerable numbers were added to the Lord. 25 And he left for (AK)Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to (AL)Antioch. And for an entire year they [w]met with the church and taught [x]considerable numbers of people; and (AM)the disciples were first called (AN)Christians in (AO)Antioch.

27 Now [y]at this time some (AP)prophets came down from Jerusalem to (AQ)Antioch. 28 One of them, named (AR)Agabus, stood up and [z]indicated [aa]by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine (AS)all over the [ab]world. [ac]And this took place in the reign of (AT)Claudius. 29 And to the extent that any of (AU)the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the [ad]relief of (AV)the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 (AW)And they did this, sending it [ae]with (AX)Barnabas and Saul to the (AY)elders.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:2 Lit those from the circumcision
  2. Acts 11:3 Or entered the house of
  3. Acts 11:3 I.e., Gentiles
  4. Acts 11:5 Or vessel
  5. Acts 11:6 Or reptiles
  6. Acts 11:7 Or sacrifice
  7. Acts 11:8 Or profane; lit common
  8. Acts 11:9 Lit make common
  9. Acts 11:12 Or making any distinction
  10. Acts 11:13 Or after he had stood in his house and said
  11. Acts 11:16 Or in
  12. Acts 11:17 Lit prevent God
  13. Acts 11:18 Lit became silent
  14. Acts 11:19 Lit tribulation
  15. Acts 11:19 Lit as far as
  16. Acts 11:20 Lit Hellenists; people who lived by Greek customs and culture
  17. Acts 11:22 Lit word
  18. Acts 11:22 Lit was heard in
  19. Acts 11:22 Lit as far as
  20. Acts 11:23 Lit saw
  21. Acts 11:23 Lit purpose of heart
  22. Acts 11:24 Lit a considerable crowd was
  23. Acts 11:26 Or were gathered together
  24. Acts 11:26 Lit a considerable crowd
  25. Acts 11:27 Lit in these days
  26. Acts 11:28 I.e., a prophetic communication of some kind
  27. Acts 11:28 Or through
  28. Acts 11:28 Lit inhabited earth
  29. Acts 11:28 Lit which took place
  30. Acts 11:29 Lit service
  31. Acts 11:30 Lit by the hand of

Peter Reports to the Church in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the gentiles had also accepted the word of God. But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who emphasized circumcision[a] disagreed with him. They said, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, “I was in the town of Joppa praying when in a trance I saw a vision: Something like a large linen sheet descended down from heaven, lowered by its four corners, and it came right down to me. When I examined it closely, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.’ But I replied, ‘Absolutely not, Lord, for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ Then the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘You must stop calling common what God has made clean!’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back up to heaven.

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 told me to go with them without hesitating. These six brothers went with me, too, and we entered the house of the man from Caesarea.[b] 13 Then he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his home and saying, ‘Send messengers[c] to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. 14 He will discuss with you how you and your entire household will be saved.’

15 “When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[d] water, but you will be baptized with[e] the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Now if God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[f] who was I to try to stop God?”

18 When they heard this, they calmed down, and praised God by saying, “So God has given repentance that leads to life even to gentiles.”

The New Church in Antioch

19 Now the people who were scattered by the persecution that started because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But among them were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began proclaiming the Lord Jesus even to the Hellenistic Jews.[g] 21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

22 When the church in Jerusalem heard this news, they sent Barnabas all the way to Antioch. 23 When he arrived, he rejoiced to see what the grace of God had done,[h] and with hearty determination he kept encouraging all of them to remain faithful to the Lord, 24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And so a large number of people was brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas left for Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him to Antioch, and for a whole year they were guests of the church and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

27 At that time some prophets from Jerusalem came down to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus got up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world. This happened during the reign of Claudius. 29 So all of the disciples decided they would send a contribution to the brothers living in Judea, as they were able, 30 by sending it through[i] Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:2 Lit. those of the circumcision
  2. Acts 11:12 The Gk. lacks from Caesarea
  3. Acts 11:13 The Gk. lacks messengers
  4. Acts 11:16 Or in
  5. Acts 11:16 Or in
  6. Acts 11:17 Or Christ
  7. Acts 11:20 Other mss. read to the Greeks
  8. Acts 11:23 Lit. to see the grace of God
  9. Acts 11:30 Lit. sending by the hand of