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Acts 11
New American Standard Bible

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. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, [a](B)the Jewish believers took issue with him, 3 saying, “(C)You [b]went to [c]uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained at length to them (D)in an orderly sequence, saying, 5 “(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, 6 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. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; [f]kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing [g]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 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
Close NLT

Acts 11
New Living Translation

Peter Explains His Actions

11 Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers[a] in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. 2 But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers[b] criticized him. 3 “You entered the home of Gentiles[c] and even ate with them!” they said.

4 Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. 5 “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. 6 When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. 7 And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’

8 “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.[d]’

9 “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ 10 This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.

11 “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. 13 He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 14 He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’

15 “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. 16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with[e] water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

18 When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”

The Church in Antioch of Syria

19 Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. 20 However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles[f] about the Lord Jesus. 21 The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

25 Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers[g] were first called Christians.)

27 During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.) 29 So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters[h] in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. 30 This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.

Footnotes

  1. 11:1 Greek brothers.
  2. 11:2 Greek those of the circumcision.
  3. 11:3 Greek of uncircumcised men.
  4. 11:8 Greek anything common or unclean.
  5. 11:16 Or in; also in 11:16b.
  6. 11:20 Greek the Hellenists (i.e., those who speak Greek); other manuscripts read the Greeks.
  7. 11:26 Greek disciples; also in 11:29.
  8. 11:29 Greek the brothers.
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Acts 10
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New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

New American Standard Bible is made available by The Lockman Foundation
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.