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Peter’s Report in Jerusalem

11 Now the apostles and (A)the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, [a](B)those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, “(C)You [b]went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began speaking [c]and proceeded to explain to them (D)in orderly sequence, saying, (E)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw (F)a vision, [d]an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from heaven, and it came right down to me, and when looking closely at it, I was observing it and saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the [e]sky. And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise up, Peter; [f]slaughter and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing defiled or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘(G)What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.’ 10 And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. 11 And behold, immediately three men appeared at the house in which we were, having been sent to me from (H)Caesarea. 12 (I)And the Spirit told me to go with them [g](J)without taking issue at all. (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 [h]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter; 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 [i]with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore if (Q)God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, (R)who was I that I could prevent God’s way?” 18 And when they heard this, they [j]quieted down and (S)glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the (T)repentance that leads to life.”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:2 Lit those of the circumcision
  2. Acts 11:3 Or entered the house of
  3. Acts 11:4 Lit and was explaining
  4. Acts 11:5 Or a vessel
  5. Acts 11:6 Or heaven
  6. Acts 11:7 Or sacrifice
  7. Acts 11:12 Or without making any distinction
  8. Acts 11:13 Or after he had stood in his house and said
  9. Acts 11:16 Or in
  10. Acts 11:18 Lit became silent

Peter Defends His Actions

11 The apostles and brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who insisted on circumcision criticized him, saying, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised and ate with them!”

So Peter began to explain everything to them, point by point. He said, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision in which an object like a large sheet was let down from heaven by its four corners. It came right to me. When I inspected it very carefully, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill and eat!’

“But I replied, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

“A voice spoke from heaven a second time: ‘What God has made clean, you must not continue to call unclean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up into heaven again.

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 go with them without any hesitation. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he saw an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and call for Simon, the one called Peter. 14 He will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came down on them, just as he came down on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered how the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’[a] 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to try to stand in God’s way?”

18 When they heard these things, they had no further objections, and they praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted repentance that results in life also to the Gentiles!”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:16 Acts 1:5