Acts 11:1-18

Lexham English Bible

Peter’s Explanation to the Church in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had accepted the word^[a] of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him, ³ saying, “You went to men who were uncircumcised^[b] and ate with them!” ⁴ But Peter began and^[c] explained it^[d] to them in an orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision—an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to me. ⁶ As I^[e] looked intently into it, I was considering it,^[f] and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild animals and the reptiles and the birds of the sky. ⁷ And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!’ ⁸ But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has ever entered into my mouth!’ ⁹ But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, ‘The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!’ ¹⁰ And this happened three times, and everything was pulled up into heaven again. ¹¹ And behold, at once three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea approached the house in which we were staying.^{[g] 12} And the Spirit told me to accompany them, not hesitating at all. So these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the man’s house. ¹³ And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter, ¹⁴ who will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as also on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’^{[h] 17} Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us when we^[i] believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” ¹⁸ And when they^[j] heard these things, they became silent^[k] and praised God, saying, “Then God has granted the repentance leading to life to the Gentiles also!”