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Acts 11:1–10

Peter Reports to the Church

11 Now the apostles and rthe brothers1 who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, sthe circumcision party2 criticized him, saying, t“You went to uncircumcised men and uate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them in order: v“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.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven.

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Acts 11:1–10 — The New International Version (NIV)

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

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.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

Acts 11:1–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 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. 10 And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.

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.’ 10 This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

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

But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying: “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.’ 10 Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — New Century Version (NCV)

The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that some who were not Jewish had accepted God’s teaching too. But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some people argued with him. They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not circumcised and ate with them!”

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.’ 10 This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back to heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Now the apostles and the brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. 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. 10 And this was done thrice: and all were drawn up again into heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And the apostles and the brethren who were in Judaea heard that the nations also had received the word of God; and when Peter went up to Jerusalem, they of the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and hast eaten with them. 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. 10 And this took place thrice, and again all was drawn up into heaven;

Acts 11:1–10 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that people who were not Jewish had accepted God’s word. However, when Peter went to Jerusalem, the believers who insisted on circumcision began to argue with him. They said, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised, and you even ate with them.” 

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.’ 10 This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back into the sky again. 

Acts 11:1–10 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles had welcomed God’s message also. When Peter went up to Jerusalem, those who stressed circumcision argued with him, saying, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them!”

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.’

10 “Now this happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 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.’ 10 This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him, saying, “You went to men who were uncircumcised and ate with them!” 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!’ 10 And this happened three times, and everything was pulled up into heaven again.

Acts 11:1–10 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

The apostles and the believers all through Judea heard that people who were not Jews had also received God’s word. Peter went up to Jerusalem. There the Jewish believers found fault with him. They said, “You went into the house of those who aren’t Jews. You ate with them.”

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. 10 This happened three times. Then the sheet was pulled up into heaven.

Acts 11:1–10 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him,

saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

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.’

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


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