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Acts 11:4–9

But Peter explained it to them din order from the beginning, saying: 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. When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God has cleansed you must not call common.’

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Acts 11:4–9 — The New International Version (NIV)

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. 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.’

Acts 11:4–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)

But Peter began and explained it to them in order: “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, What God has made clean, do not call common.’

Acts 11:4–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Acts 11:4–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’

“ ‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.’

“But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’

Acts 11:4–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

So Peter explained the whole story to them. He said, “I was in the city of Joppa, and while I was praying, I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a big sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came very close to me. I looked inside it and saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ But the voice from heaven spoke again, ‘God has made these things clean, so don’t call them unholy.’

Acts 11:4–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

But Peter began, and expounded the matter unto them in order, saying, I 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: upon 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. And I heard also a voice saying unto me, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth. But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.

Acts 11:4–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

But Peter began and set forth the matter to them in order, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in an ecstasy I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending like a great sheet, let down by four corners out of heaven, and it came even to me: on which having fixed mine eyes, I considered, and saw the quadrupeds of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the heaven. And I heard also a voice saying to me, Rise up, Peter, slay and eat. And I said, In no wise, Lord, for common or unclean has never entered into my mouth. And a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God has cleansed, do not thou make common.

Acts 11:4–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, “I was praying in the city of Joppa when I fell into a trance. I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners from the sky. The sheet came near me. I looked into the sheet very closely and saw tame animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds. I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.’ 

“But I answered, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never put anything impure or uncleaninto my mouth.’ 

“A voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Don’t say that the things which God has made cleanare impure.’

Acts 11:4–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Peter began to explain to them in an orderly sequence, saying: “I was in the town of Joppa praying, and I saw, in a visionary state, an object that resembled a large sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners from heaven, and it came to me. When I looked closely and considered it, I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. Then I also heard a voice telling me, Get up, Peter; kill and eat!’

“ ‘No, Lord!’ I said. ‘For nothing common or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ But a voice answered from heaven a second time, What God has made clean, you must not call common.’

Acts 11:4–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. I also heard a voice saying to me, Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time the voice answered from heaven, What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’

Acts 11:4–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

But Peter began and explained it to them in an orderly sequence, saying, “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. As I looked intently into it, I was considering it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild animals and the reptiles and the birds of the sky. And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!’ But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has ever entered into my mouth!’ But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, ‘The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!’

Acts 11:4–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Peter explained everything to them. He told them exactly what had happened. “I was in the city of Joppa praying,” he said. “There I had a vision. I saw something that looked like a large sheet. It was being let down from heaven by its four corners. It came down to where I was. I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth. There were also wild animals, reptiles and birds. Then I heard a voice speaking to me. ‘Get up, Peter,’ the voice said. ‘Kill and eat.’

“I replied, ‘No, Lord! I will not! Nothing that is not pure and “clean” has ever entered my mouth.’

“A second time the voice spoke from heaven. ‘Do not say anything is not pure that God has made “clean,” ’ the voice said.

Acts 11:4–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying,

“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me,

and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air.

“I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’

“But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

“But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’


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