Acts 11-12

Christian Standard Bible

Gentile Salvation Defended

11 The apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. ² When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him,^{(A) 3} saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”^(B)

⁴ Peter began to explain to them step by step, ⁵ “I^(C) was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a trance, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me. ⁶ When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. ⁷ I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

⁸ “‘No, Lord!’ I said. ‘For nothing impure or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice answered from heaven a second time, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call impure.’

¹⁰ “Now this happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ At that very moment, three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were. ¹² The Spirit told me to accompany them with no doubts at all. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we went into the man’s house.^{(D) 13} He reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is also named Peter. ¹⁴ He will speak a message to you by which you and all your household^(E) will be saved.’

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as on us at the beginning.^{(F) 16} I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’^{(G) 17} If, then, God gave them the same gift that he also gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I possibly hinder God?” ^(H)

¹⁸ When they heard this they became silent. And they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles.”^(I)

The Church in Antioch

¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,^(J) speaking the word to no one except Jews. ²⁰ But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks^[a] also, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.^{(K) 21} The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.^{(L) 22} News about them reached^[b] the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to travel^[c] as far as Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged all of them to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts,^{(M) 24} for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit^(N) and of faith. And large numbers of people were added^(O) to the Lord.

²⁵ Then he went to Tarsus to search for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught large numbers. The disciples^(P) were first called Christians at Antioch.^(Q)

Famine Relief

²⁷ In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.^{(R) 28} One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world.^[d] This took place during the reign of Claudius.^{(S) 29} Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea.^{(T) 30} They did this, sending it to the elders^(U) by means of Barnabas and Saul.

James Martyred and Peter Jailed

12 About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, ² and he executed James,^(V) John’s brother, with the sword. ³ When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.^{(W) 4} After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him.

Peter Rescued

⁶ When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. ⁷ Suddenly an angel of the Lord^(X) appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, “Quick, get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.^{(Y) 8} “Get dressed,” the angel told him, “and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.” ⁹ So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision.^{(Z) 10} After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him.^(AA)

¹¹ When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.”^{(AB) 12} As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark,^(AC) where many had assembled and were praying. ¹³ He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate.

¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It’s his angel.”^{(AD) 16} Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷ Motioning to them with his hand^(AE) to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Tell these things to James^(AF) and the brothers,” he said, and he left and went to another place.

¹⁸ At daylight, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.^(AG)

Herod’s Death

²⁰ Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. Together they presented themselves before him. After winning over Blastus, who was in charge of the king’s bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country.^{(AH) 21} On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them. ²² The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ At once an angel of the Lord^(AI) struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.^(AJ)

²⁴ But the word of God spread and multiplied.^{(AK) 25} After they had completed their relief mission, Barnabas and Saul returned to^[e] Jerusalem, taking along John who was called Mark.^(AL)