Acts of Apostles, 11

¹ Now the apostles and the brothers who were in Ju·deʹa heard that people of the nations had also accepted the word of God.

² So when Peter came up to Jerusalem, the supporters of circumcision began to criticize^*1 him,

³ saying: “You went into the house of men who were not circumcised and ate with them.”

⁴ At this Peter went on to explain the matter in detail to them, saying:

⁵ “I was in the city of Jopʹpa praying, and while in a trance I saw a vision, something^*1 descending like a great linen sheet being let down by its four corners from heaven, and it came right down to me.

⁶ Looking closely into it, I observed four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles,^*1 and birds of heaven.

⁷ I also heard a voice say to me: ‘Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!’

⁸ But I said: ‘Certainly not, Lord, because a defiled or unclean thing has never entered my mouth.’

⁹ The second time, the voice from heaven answered: ‘You stop calling defiled the things God has cleansed.’

¹⁰ This happened a third time, and everything was pulled up again into heaven.

¹¹ Also just at that moment, three men were standing at the house where we were staying, having been sent to me from Caes·a·reʹa.

¹² Then the spirit told me to go with them, not doubting at all. But these six brothers also went with me, and we entered into the house of the man.

¹³ “He reported to us how he saw the angel stand in his house and say: ‘Send men to Jopʹpa and summon Simon who is called Peter,

¹⁴ and he will tell you things by which you and all your household may get saved.’

¹⁵ But when I started to speak, the holy spirit fell on them just as it did also on us in the beginning.

¹⁶ At this I recalled the saying of the Lord, how he used to say: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with holy spirit.’

¹⁷ If, therefore, God gave the same free gift to them that he gave to us who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I should be able to hinder God?”^*1

¹⁸ When they heard these things, they stopped objecting,^*1 and they glorified God, saying: “So, then, God has also granted to people of the nations repentance leading to life.”

¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the tribulation that arose over Stephen went as far as Phoe·niʹcia, Cyʹprus, and Antioch, but they spoke the word only to the Jews.

²⁰ However, some of the men among them from Cyʹprus and Cy·reʹne came to Antioch and began talking to the Greek-speaking people, declaring the good news of the Lord Jesus.

²¹ Furthermore, the hand of Jehovah^*1 was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.

²² The report about them reached the ears of the congregation in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barʹna·bas as far as Antioch.

²³ When he arrived and saw the undeserved kindness of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all to continue in the Lord with heartfelt resolve;

²⁴ for he was a good man and full of holy spirit and faith. And a considerable crowd was added to the Lord.

²⁵ So he went to Tarsus to make a thorough search for Saul.

²⁶ After he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year they assembled with them in the congregation and taught quite a crowd, and it was first in Antioch that the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.

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

²⁸ One of them named Agʹa·bus stood up and foretold through the spirit that a great famine was about to come on the entire inhabited earth, which, in fact, did take place in the time of Claudius.

²⁹ So the disciples determined, each according to what he could afford, to send relief^*1 to the brothers living in Ju·deʹa;

³⁰ and this they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barʹna·bas and Saul.