Acts 9:32–11:18

Aeneas Healed

³²Now it happened that as^* Peter was traveling through all the places,^* he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda. ³³And he found there a certain man named^m Aeneas who was paralyzed, who had been lying on a matⁿ for eight years. ³⁴And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and make your bed yourself!” And immediately he got up. ³⁵And all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, who all^* indeed turned to the Lord.

Dorcas Raised

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a certain female disciple named^o Tabitha (which translated means “Dorcas”).^p She was full of good deeds and charitable giving which she was constantly doing.^{* 37}Now it happened that in those days after^* becoming sick, she died. And after^* washing her,^* they placed her in an upstairs room. ³⁸And because^* Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, when they^* heard that Peter was in Lydda,^q sent two men to him, urging, “Do not delay to come to us!” ³⁹So Peter got up and^* accompanied them. When he^* arrived, they brought him^* up to the upstairs room, and all the widows came to him, weeping and showing him^* tunics and other clothing that Dorcas used to make while she^* was with them. ⁴⁰But Peter sent them all outside, and, falling to his^* knees, he prayed. And turning toward the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” And she opened her eyes, and when she^* saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹And he gave her his hand and^* raised her up. And he called the saints and the widows and^* presented her alive. ⁴²And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³And it happened that he stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner.^r

Cornelius Has a Vision

10Now there was a certain man in Caesarea named^a Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort, ²devout and fearing God together with all his household, doing many charitable deeds for the people and praying to God continually.^{b 3}About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius.” ⁴And he stared at him and became terrified and^* said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God. ⁵And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter. ⁶This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner,^c whose house is by the sea.” ⁷And when the angel who spoke to him departed, he summoned two of the household slaves and a devout soldier from those who attended him, ⁸and after he^* had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter Has a Vision

⁹And the next day, as^* they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour. ¹⁰And he became hungry and wanted to eat. But while^* they were preparing the food,^* a trance came over him. ¹¹And he saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down to the earth by its four corners, ¹²in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of the sky. ¹³And a voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!” ¹⁴But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common and unclean!” ¹⁵And the voice came again to him for the second time: “The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!” ¹⁶And this happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly perplexed within himself as to what the vision that he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having found the house of Simon by asking around, stood at the gate. ¹⁸And they called out and^* asked if Simon who was also called Peter was staying there as a guest. ¹⁹And while^* Peter was reflecting about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, men^d are looking for you. ²⁰But get up, go down, and go with them—not hesitating at all, because I have sent them.” ²¹So Peter went down to the men and^* said, “Behold, I am he whom you are looking for! What is the reason for which you have come?” ²²And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man—and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews—was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you.” ²³So he invited them in and^* entertained them as guests, and on the next day he got up and^* went away with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴And on the next day he entered into Caesarea.

Peter Visits Cornelius

Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and^* had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵So it happened that when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his^* feet, and^* worshiped him.^{* 26}But Peter helped him up, saying, “Get up! I myself am also a man!” ²⁷And as he^* conversed with him, he went in and found many people gathered. ²⁸And he said to them, “You know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner. And to me God has shown that I should call no man common or unclean. ²⁹Therefore—and without raising any objection—I came when I^* was sent for. So I ask for what reason you sent for me.”

³⁰And Cornelius said, “Four days ago at this hour,^e the ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before me ³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charitable deeds have been remembered before God. ³²Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner,^f by the sea. ³³Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.^g So now we all are present before God to hear all the things that have been commanded to you by the Lord.”

³⁴So Peter opened his^* mouth and^* said, “In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality, ³⁵but in every nation the one who fears him and who does what is right is acceptable to him. ³⁶As for^* the message that he sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—this one is Lord of all—³⁷you know the thing that happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after the baptism that John proclaimed: ³⁸Jesus of Nazareth—how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him. ³⁹And we are witnesses of all the things that he did both in the land of the Judeans and in Jerusalem, whom they also executed by^* hanging him^* on a tree. ⁴⁰God raised this one up on the third day and granted that he should become visible, ⁴¹not to all the people but to us who had been chosen beforehand by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify solemnly that this one is the one appointed^h by God as judge of the living and of the dead. ⁴³To this one all the prophets testify, that through his name everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins.”

The Holy Spirit Given to Gentiles

⁴⁴While^* Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who were listening to the message. ⁴⁵And those believers from the circumcision who had accompanied Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, ⁴⁶for they heard them speaking in tongues and glorifying God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷“Surely no one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as we also did!” ⁴⁸So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for several days.

Peter’s Explanation to the Church in Jerusalem

11Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had accepted the word^a of God. ²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him, ³saying, “You went to men who were uncircumcised^b and ate with them!” ⁴But Peter began and^* explained it^* to them in an orderly sequence, saying, ⁵“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. ⁶As 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. ⁷And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!’ ⁸But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has ever entered into my mouth!’ ⁹But the voice replied from heaven for the second time, ‘The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!’ ¹⁰And this happened three times, and everything was pulled up into heaven again. ¹¹And behold, at once three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea approached the house in which we were staying.^{* 12}And the Spirit told me to accompany them, not hesitating at all. So these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the man’s house. ¹³And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter, ¹⁴who will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵And as I was beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as also on us at the beginning. ¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’^{c 17}Therefore if God gave them the same gift as also to us when we^* believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” ¹⁸And when they^* heard these things, they became silent^* and praised God, saying, “Then God has granted the repentance leading to life to the Gentiles also!”