Peter Defends God’s Grace

11 Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^(A)those of the circumcision contended with him, ³ saying, ^(B)“You went in to uncircumcised men ^(C)and ate with them!”

⁴ But Peter explained it to them ^(D)in order from the beginning, saying: ^5 (E)“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. ⁶ When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. ⁷ And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ ¹⁰ Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² Then ^(F)the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover ^(G)these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ^13 (H)And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ¹⁴ who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, ^(I)as upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ^(J)‘John indeed baptized with water, but ^(K)you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ^17 (L)If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, ^(M)who was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ^(N)“Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Barnabas and Saul at Antioch

^19 (O)Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. ²⁰ But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to ^(P)the Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And ^(Q)the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and ^(R)turned to the Lord.

²² Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out ^(S)Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. ²³ When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and ^(T)encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. ²⁴ For he was a good man, ^(U)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. ^(V)And a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed for ^(W)Tarsus to seek Saul. ²⁶ And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Relief to Judea

²⁷ And in these days ^(X)prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ Then one of them, named ^(Y)Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of ^(Z)Claudius Caesar. ²⁹ Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send ^(AA)relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. ^30 (AB)This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Herod’s Violence to the Church

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. ² Then he killed James ^(AC)the brother of John with the sword. ³ And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during ^(AD)the Days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ So ^(AE)when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four ^[a]squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter Freed from Prison

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but ^[b]constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ⁶ And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were ^[c]keeping the prison. ⁷ Now behold, ^(AF)an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” ⁹ So he went out and followed him, and ^(AG)did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought ^(AH)he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, ^(AI)which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that ^(AJ)the Lord has sent His angel, and ^(AK)has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

¹² So, when he had considered this, ^(AL)he came to the house of Mary, the mother of ^(AM)John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together ^(AN)praying. ¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, ^(AO)“It is his angel.”

¹⁶ Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ But ^(AP)motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸ Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small ^[d]stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.

And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

Herod’s Violent Death

²⁰ Now Herod had been very angry with the people of ^(AQ)Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus ^[e]the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because ^(AR)their country was ^[f]supplied with food by the king’s country.

²¹ So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. ²² And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” ²³ Then immediately an angel of the Lord ^(AS)struck him, because ^(AT)he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and ^[g]died.

²⁴ But ^(AU)the word of God grew and multiplied.

Barnabas and Saul Appointed

²⁵ And ^(AV)Barnabas and Saul returned ^[h]from Jerusalem when they had ^(AW)fulfilled their ministry, and they also ^(AX)took with them ^(AY)John whose surname was Mark.