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11 And the apostles and the brethren who are in Judea heard that also the nations did receive the word of God,

and when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision were contending with him,

saying -- `Unto men uncircumcised thou didst go in, and didst eat with them!'

And Peter having begun, did expound to them in order saying,

`I was in the city of Joppa praying, and I saw in a trance a vision, a certain vessel coming down, as a great sheet by four corners being let down out of the heaven, and it came unto me;

at which having looked stedfastly, I was considering, and I saw the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of heaven;

and I heard a voice saying to me, Having risen, Peter, slay and eat;

and I said, Not so, Lord; because anything common or unclean hath at no time entered into my mouth;

and a voice did answer me a second time out of the heaven, What God did cleanse, thou -- declare not thou common.

10 `And this happened thrice, and again was all drawn up to the heaven,

11 and, lo, immediately, three men stood at the house in which I was, having been sent from Cesarea unto me,

12 and the Spirit said to me to go with them, nothing doubting, and these six brethren also went with me, and we did enter into the house of the man,

13 he declared also to us how he saw the messenger in his house standing, and saying to him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter,

14 who shall speak sayings by which thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.

15 `And in my beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit did fall upon them, even as also upon us in the beginning,

16 and I remembered the saying of the Lord, how he said, John indeed did baptize with water, and ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit;

17 if then the equal gift God did give to them as also to us, having believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, I -- how was I able to withstand God?'

18 And they, having heard these things, were silent, and were glorifying God, saying, `Then, indeed, also to the nations did God give the reformation to life.'

19 Those, indeed, therefore, having been scattered abroad, from the tribulation that came after Stephen, went through unto Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none except to Jews only;

20 and there were certain of them men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who having entered into Antioch, were speaking unto the Hellenists, proclaiming good news -- the Lord Jesus,

21 and the hand of the Lord was with them, a great number also, having believed, did turn unto the Lord.

22 And the account was heard in the ears of the assembly that [is] in Jerusalem concerning them, and they sent forth Barnabas to go through unto Antioch,

23 who, having come, and having seen the grace of God, was glad, and was exhorting all with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord,

24 because he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith, and a great multitude was added to the Lord.

25 And Barnabas went forth to Tarsus, to seek for Saul,

26 and having found him, he brought him to Antioch, and it came to pass that they a whole year did assemble together in the assembly, and taught a great multitude, the disciples also were divinely called first in Antioch Christians.

27 And in those days there came from Jerusalem prophets to Antioch,

28 and one of them, by name Agabus, having stood up, did signify through the Spirit a great dearth is about to be throughout all the world -- which also came to pass in the time of Claudius Caesar --

29 and the disciples, according as any one was prospering, determined each of them to send for ministration to the brethren dwelling in Judea,

30 which also they did, having sent unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Peter Explains His Actions

11 The apostles and the believers(A) throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.(B) So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers(C) criticized him and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”(D)

Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision.(E) I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

“The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’(F) 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea(G) stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told(H) me to have no hesitation about going with them.(I) These six brothers(J) also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel(K) appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message(L) through which you and all your household(M) will be saved.’

15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on(N) them as he had come on us at the beginning.(O) 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with[a] water,(P) but you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.’(Q) 17 So if God gave them the same gift(R) he gave us(S) who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”(T)

The Church in Antioch

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed(U) traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch,(V) spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus(W) and Cyrene,(X) went to Antioch(Y) and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news(Z) about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them,(AA) and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.(AB)

22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas(AC) to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done,(AD) he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.(AE) 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit(AF) and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.(AG)

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus(AH) to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples(AI) were called Christians first(AJ) at Antioch.

27 During this time some prophets(AK) came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus,(AL) stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world.(AM) (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)(AN) 29 The disciples,(AO) as each one was able, decided to provide help(AP) for the brothers and sisters(AQ) living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders(AR) by Barnabas(AS) and Saul.(AT)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 11:16 Or in
  2. Acts 11:16 Or in