Acts 11

¹Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judæa heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

²And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,

³saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

⁴But Peter began, and expounded the matter unto them in order, saying,

⁵I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even unto me:

⁶upon which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw the fourfooted beasts of the earth and wild beasts and creeping things and birds of the heaven.

⁷And I heard also a voice saying unto me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.

⁸But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.

⁹But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.

¹⁰And this was done thrice: and all were drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹And behold, forthwith three men stood before the house in which we were, having been sent from Cæsarea unto me.

¹²And the Spirit bade me go with them, making no distinction. And these six brethren also accompanied me; and we entered into the man’s house:

¹³and he told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, Send to Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter;

¹⁴who shall speak unto thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.

¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even as on us at the beginning.

¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷If then God gave unto them the like gift as he did also unto us, when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that I could withstand God?

¹⁸And when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then to the Gentiles also hath God granted repentance unto life.

¹⁹They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none save only to Jews.

²⁰But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

²¹And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord.

²²And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch:

²³who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord:

²⁴for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

²⁵And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul;

²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people; and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

²⁷Now in these days there came down prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

²⁸And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be a great famine over all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius.

²⁹And the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in Judæa:

³⁰which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11

¹The apostles and brothers throughout Judea soon heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him

³and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:

⁵“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.

⁶I looked at it closely and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air.

⁷Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, kill and eat.’

⁸‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’

¹⁰This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven.

¹¹Just then three men sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.

¹²The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.

¹³He told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.

¹⁴He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He had fallen upon us at the beginning.

¹⁶Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

¹⁷So if God gave them the same gift He gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder the work of God?”

¹⁸When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

¹⁹Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.

²⁰But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

²¹The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²²When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

²³When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts.

²⁴Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,

²⁶and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

²⁷In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)

²⁹So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

³⁰This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.