Peter and Cornelius

1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of ^wwhat was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man ^xwho feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 ^yAbout the ninth hour of the day^{1 z}he saw clearly in a vision ^aan angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms ^bhave ascended ^cas a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging ^dwith one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter’s Vision

9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, ^ePeter went up ^fon the housetop about ^gthe sixth hour² to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into ^ha trance 11 and saw ⁱthe heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; ^jfor I have never eaten anything that is ^kcommon or ^lunclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, ^m“What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what ⁿthe vision that he had seen might mean, behold, ^othe men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering ⁿthe vision, ^pthe Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and ^qaccompany them without hesitation,³ for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and ^rGod-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by ^sa holy angel to send for you to come to his house and ^tto hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests.

The next day he rose and went away with them, and ^usome of ^vthe brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and ^wfell down at his feet and ^xworshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, ^y“Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew ^zto associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but ^aGod has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”

30 And Cornelius said, ^b“Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at ^cthe ninth hour,⁴ and behold, ^da man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, ^eyour prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear the Good News

34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that ^fGod ^gshows no partiality, 35 but ^fin every nation anyone who fears him and ^hdoes what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for ⁱthe word that he sent to Israel, ^jpreaching good news of ^kpeace through Jesus Christ (^lhe is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, ^mbeginning ⁿfrom Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how ^oGod anointed Jesus of Nazareth ^pwith the Holy Spirit and with ^qpower. He went about doing good and healing all ^rwho were oppressed by the devil, ^sfor God was with him. 39 And ^twe are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. ^uThey put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but ^vGod raised him on ^wthe third day and made him to ^xappear, 41 ^ynot to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as ^zwitnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And ^ahe commanded us to preach to the people and to testify ^bthat he is the one appointed by God to be judge ^cof the living and the dead. 43 ^dTo him ^eall the prophets bear witness that ^feveryone who believes in him receives ^gforgiveness of sins ^hthrough his name.”

The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles

44 While Peter was still saying these things, ⁱthe Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among ^jthe circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because ^kthe gift of the Holy Spirit ^lwas poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them ^mspeaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 ⁿ“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit ^ojust as we have?” 48 And he ^pcommanded them ^qto be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Peter Reports to the Church

1 Now the apostles and ^rthe brothers⁵ who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ^sthe circumcision party⁶ criticized him, saying, 3 ^t“You went to uncircumcised men and ^uate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 ^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. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 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. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, ^wmaking no distinction. ^xThese six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 ^yhe will declare to you a message by which ^zyou will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, ^athe Holy Spirit fell on them ^bjust as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ^c‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then ^dGod gave ^ethe same gift to them as he gave to us ^fwhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^gwho was I ^hthat I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they ⁱglorified God, saying, ^j“Then to the Gentiles also God has ^kgranted ^lrepentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

19 ^mNow those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists⁷ also, ⁿpreaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And ^othe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed ^pturned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw ^qthe grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord ^rwith steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, ^sfull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people ^twere added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to ^uTarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called ^vChristians.

27 Now in these days ^wprophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named ^xAgabus stood up and foretold ^yby the Spirit that there would be a great ^zfamine over all the world (this took place in the days of ^aClaudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, ^bto send relief to ^cthe brothers⁸ living in Judea. 30 ^dAnd they did so, sending it to ^ethe elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

The Jerusalem Council

1 ^yBut some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^zthe brothers, “Unless you are ^acircumcised ^baccording to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^cdebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^dsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^ethe apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, ^fbeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^gdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^hbrought great joy to all ⁱthe brothers.¹ 4 ^jWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^kthe apostles and the elders, and ^gthey declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to ^lthe party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^m“It is necessary ⁿto circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

6 ^oThe ^kapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much ^pdebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^qthat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^rthe word of ^sthe gospel and believe. 8 And God, ^twho knows the heart, ^ubore witness to them, ^vby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and ^whe made no distinction between us and them, ^xhaving cleansed their hearts ^yby faith. 10 Now, therefore, why ^zare you putting God to the test ^aby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^bthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we ^cbelieve that we will be ^dsaved through ^ethe grace of the Lord Jesus, ^wjust as they will.”

12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^fas they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, ^gJames replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 ^hSimeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ⁱa people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

19 Therefore ⁿmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^oturn to God, 20 but should write to them ^pto abstain from ^qthe things polluted by idols, and from ^rsexual immorality, and from ^swhat has been strangled, and from ^sblood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^tfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then it seemed good to ^uthe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called ^vBarsabbas, and ^wSilas, leading men among ^xthe brothers, 23 with the following letter: ^x“The brothers, both ^uthe apostles and the elders, to the brothers³ who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^ygreetings. 24 Since we have heard that ^zsome persons have gone out from us and ^atroubled you⁴ with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come ^bto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^cbeloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 ^dmen who have ^erisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent ^fJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good ^gto the Holy Spirit and ^hto us ⁱto lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 ^jthat you abstain from ^kwhat has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^lprophets, encouraged and ^mstrengthened ⁿthe brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off ^oin peace by ⁿthe brothers to those who had sent them.⁵ 35 But ^pPaul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit ⁿthe brothers ^qin every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them ^rJohn called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one ^swho had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose ^ta sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. ^uBarnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^vhaving been commended by ^wthe brothers to ^xthe grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^ystrengthening the churches.