Acts 10-12

New Century Version

Peter Teaches Cornelius

10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, an officer in the Italian group of the Roman army. ² Cornelius was a religious man. He and all the other people who lived in his house worshiped the true God. He gave much of his money to the poor and prayed to God often. ³ One afternoon about three o’clock, Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

⁴ Cornelius stared at the angel. He became afraid and said, “What do you want, Lord?”

The angel said, “God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you. ⁵ Send some men now to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter. ⁶ He is staying with a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his servants and a soldier, a religious man who worked for him. ⁸ Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.

⁹ About noon the next day as they came near Joppa, Peter was going up to the roof^[a] to pray. ¹⁰ He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he had a vision. ¹¹ He saw heaven opened and something coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. ¹² In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds. ¹³ Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴ But Peter said, “No, Lord! I have never eaten food that is unholy or unclean.”

¹⁵ But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ‘unholy’!” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and at once the sheet was taken back to heaven.

¹⁷ While Peter was wondering what this vision meant, the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. ¹⁸ They asked, “Is Simon Peter staying here?”

¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Listen, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without doubting, because I have sent them to you.”

²¹ So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. Why did you come here?”

²² They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, an army officer and a good man; he worships God. All the people respect him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.” ²³ So Peter asked the men to come in and spend the night.

The next day Peter got ready and went with them, and some of the followers from Joppa joined him. ²⁴ On the following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am only a human.” ²⁷ As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he saw many people gathered. ²⁸ He said, “You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that I should not call any person ‘unholy’ or ‘unclean.’ ²⁹ That is why I did not argue when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”

³⁰ Cornelius said, “Four days ago, I was praying in my house at this same time—three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing shining clothes. ³¹ He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you. ³² So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon Peter to come. Peter is staying in the house of a man, also named Simon, who is a tanner and has a house beside the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and it was very good of you to come. Now we are all here before God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”

³⁴ Peter began to speak: “I really understand now that to God every person is the same. ³⁵ In every country God accepts anyone who worships him and does what is right. ³⁶ You know the message that God has sent to the people of Israel is the Good News that peace has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people! ³⁷ You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after John^[b] preached to the people about baptism. ³⁸ You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God gave him the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ruled by the devil, because God was with him. ³⁹ We saw what Jesus did in Judea and in Jerusalem, but the Jews in Jerusalem killed him by hanging him on a cross. ⁴⁰ Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus to life and caused him to be seen, ⁴¹ not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead. ⁴² He told us to preach to the people and to tell them that he is the one whom God chose to be the judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ All the prophets say it is true that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening. ⁴⁵ The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been given even to the nations. ⁴⁶ These believers heard them speaking in different languages^[c] and praising God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!” ⁴⁸ So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Peter Returns to Jerusalem

11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that some who were not Jewish had accepted God’s teaching too. ² But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some people argued with him. ³ They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not circumcised and ate with them!”

⁴ So Peter explained the whole story to them. ⁵ 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. ⁶ I looked inside it and saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. ⁷ I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ ⁹ 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. ¹¹ Right then three men who were sent to me from Caesarea came to the house where I was staying. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without doubting. These six believers here also went with me, and we entered the house of Cornelius. ¹³ He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and invite Simon Peter to come. ¹⁴ By the words he will say to you, you and all your family will be saved.’ ¹⁵ When I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Since God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I stop the work of God?”

¹⁸ When the believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing even other nations to turn to him and live.”

The Good News Comes to Antioch

¹⁹ Many of the believers were scattered when they were persecuted after Stephen was killed. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch telling the message to others, but only to Jews. ²⁰ Some of these believers were people from Cyprus and Cyrene. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to Greeks,^[d] telling them the Good News about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord was helping the believers, and a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ^23-24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith. When he reached Antioch and saw how God had blessed the people, he was glad. He encouraged all the believers in Antioch always to obey the Lord with all their hearts, and many people became followers of the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there. In Antioch the followers were called Christians for the first time.

²⁷ About that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. ²⁸ One of them, named Agabus, stood up and spoke with the help of the Holy Spirit. He said, “A very hard time is coming to the whole world. There will be no food to eat.” (This happened when Claudius ruled.) ²⁹ The followers all decided to help the believers who lived in Judea, as much as each one could. ³⁰ They gathered the money and gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea.

Herod Agrippa Hurts the Church

12 During that same time King Herod began to mistreat some who belonged to the church. ² He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword. ³ Herod saw that some of the people liked this, so he decided to arrest Peter, too. (This happened during the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.)

⁴ After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in jail and handed him over to be guarded by sixteen soldiers. Herod planned to bring Peter before the people for trial after the Passover Feast. ⁵ So Peter was kept in jail, but the church prayed earnestly to God for him.

Peter Leaves the Jail

⁶ The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Other soldiers were guarding the door of the jail. ⁷ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shined in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Hurry! Get up!” the angel said. And the chains fell off Peter’s hands. ⁸ Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And Peter did. Then the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” ⁹ So Peter followed him out, but he did not know if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he might be seeing a vision. ¹⁰ They went past the first and second guards and came to the iron gate that separated them from the city. The gate opened by itself for them, and they went through it. When they had walked down one street, the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹ Then Peter realized what had happened. He thought, “Now I know that the Lord really sent his angel to me. He rescued me from Herod and from all the things the people thought would happen.”

¹² When he considered this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people were gathered there, praying. ¹³ Peter knocked on the outside door, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so happy she forgot to open the door. Instead, she ran inside and told the group, “Peter is at the door!”

¹⁵ They said to her, “You are crazy!” But she kept on saying it was true, so they said, “It must be Peter’s angel.”

¹⁶ Peter continued to knock, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷ Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord led him out of the jail, and he said, “Tell James and the other believers what happened.” Then he left to go to another place.

¹⁸ The next day the soldiers were very upset and wondered what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹ Herod looked everywhere for him but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed.

The Death of Herod Agrippa

Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed. ²⁰ Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but the people of those cities all came in a group to him. After convincing Blastus, the king’s personal servant, to be on their side, they asked Herod for peace, because their country got its food from his country.

²¹ On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not a human!” ²³ Because Herod did not give the glory to God, an angel of the Lord immediately caused him to become sick, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ God’s message continued to spread and reach people.

²⁵ After Barnabas and Saul finished their task in Jerusalem, they returned to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.