Acts 10–12

Cornelius Sends a Delegation

10There was a certain man in ^aCaesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian ¹Regiment, ^2ba devout man and one who ^cfeared God with all his household, who gave ²alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. ³About ³the ninth hour of the day ^dhe saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, “What is it, lord?”

So he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. ⁵Now ^esend men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. ⁶He is lodging with ^fSimon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. ^gHe ⁴will tell you what you must do.” ⁷And when the angel who spoke to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among those who waited on him continually. ⁸So when he had explained all these things to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter’s Vision

⁹The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, ^hPeter went up on the housetop to pray, about ⁵the sixth hour. ¹⁰Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance ¹¹and ⁱsaw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. ¹²In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. ¹³And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! ^jFor I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”

¹⁵And a voice spoke to him again the second time, ^k“What God has ⁶cleansed you must not call common.” ¹⁶This was done three times. And the object was taken up into heaven again.

Summoned to Caesarea

¹⁷Now while Peter ⁷wondered within himself what this vision which he had seen meant, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate. ¹⁸And they called and asked whether Simon, whose surname was Peter, was lodging there.

¹⁹While Peter thought about the vision, ^lthe Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are seeking you. ^20mArise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”

²¹Then Peter went down to the men ⁸who had been sent to him from Cornelius, and said, “Yes, I am he whom you seek. For what reason have you come?”

²²And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and ⁿhas a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you.” ²³Then he invited them in and lodged them.

On the next day Peter went away with them, ^oand some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

Peter Meets Cornelius

²⁴And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, ^p“Stand up; I myself am also a man.” ²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. ²⁸Then he said to them, “You know how ^qunlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But ^rGod has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. ²⁹Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”

³⁰So Cornelius said, ⁹“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, ^sa man stood before me ^tin bright clothing, ³¹and said, ‘Cornelius, ^uyour prayer has been heard, and ^vyour ¹alms are remembered in the sight of God. ³²Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. ²When he comes, he will speak to you.’ ³³So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”

Preaching to Cornelius’ Household

³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ^w“In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. ³⁵But ^xin every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is ^yaccepted by Him. ³⁶The word which God sent to the ³children of Israel, ^zpreaching peace through Jesus Christ—^aHe is Lord of all—³⁷that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and ^bbegan from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: ³⁸how ^cGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who ^dwent about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, ^efor God was with Him. ³⁹And we are ^fwitnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom ⁴they ^gkilled by hanging on a tree. ⁴⁰Him ^hGod raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, ⁴¹ⁱnot to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us ^jwho ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴²And ^kHe commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify ^lthat it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge ^mof the living and the dead. ⁴³ⁿTo Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, ^owhoever believes in Him will receive ^premission ⁵of sins.”

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, ^qthe Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. ^45rAnd ⁶those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, ^sbecause the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then Peter answered, ⁴⁷“Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit ^tjust as we have?” ^48uAnd he commanded them to be baptized ^vin the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

Peter Defends God’s Grace

11Now the apostles and brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. ²And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^athose of the circumcision contended with him, ³saying, ^b“You went in to uncircumcised men ^cand ate with them!”

⁴But Peter explained it to them ^din order from the beginning, saying: ^5e“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. ⁶When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. ⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸But I said, ‘Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ ⁹But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God has cleansed you must not call common.’ ¹⁰Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²Then ^fthe Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover ^gthese six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ^13hAnd he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, ‘Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ¹⁴who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.’ ¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, ⁱas upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ^j‘John indeed baptized with water, but ^kyou shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ^17lIf therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, ^mwho was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ⁿ“Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Barnabas and Saul at Antioch

^19oNow those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but the Jews only. ²⁰But some of them were men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke to ^pthe Hellenists, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹And ^qthe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and ^rturned to the Lord.

²²Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out ^sBarnabas to go as far as Antioch. ²³When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and ^tencouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. ²⁴For he was a good man, ^ufull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. ^vAnd a great many people were added to the Lord.

²⁵Then Barnabas departed for ^wTarsus to seek Saul. ²⁶And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Relief to Judea

²⁷And in these days ^xprophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸Then one of them, named ^yAgabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of ^zClaudius Caesar. ²⁹Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send ^arelief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. ^30bThis they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Herod’s Violence to the Church

12Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. ²Then he killed James ^athe brother of John with the sword. ³And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during ^bthe Days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴So ^cwhen he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four ¹squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter Freed…