Acts

¹Now there was a certain man in Caesarea whose name was Cornelius. He was a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, ²a devout man who feared God with his entire household. He gave generous alms to the people and always prayed to God. ³At about the ninth hour of the day,¹⁴⁰⁰ he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!”

⁴Gazing at the angel and being quite alarmed, Cornelius said, “What is it, Lord?”

The angel replied, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. ⁵Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon who is called Peter. ⁶He is staying with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.”¹⁴⁰¹

⁷When the angel who had spoken to him had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants. ⁸Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.

Peter receives a vision, travels to Caesarea

⁹Now on the next day, as they were on their way and approached the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour¹⁴⁰². ¹⁰He became hungry and desired to eat, but while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹He saw heaven¹⁴⁰³ opened and something 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 animals, reptiles, and birds of the sky. ¹³Then a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!”

¹⁴But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean!”

¹⁵Again, a second time, the voice spoke to him, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.” ¹⁶This happened three times, and again the vessel¹⁴⁰⁴ was taken up into heaven. ¹⁷As Peter was very perplexed regarding the meaning of the vision, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius found where Simon’s house was and stood at the gate. ¹⁸They called and asked whether Simon, who was called Peter, was lodging there. ¹⁹While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three¹⁴⁰⁵ men are looking for you. ²⁰Arise and go downstairs! Accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

²¹Peter went down to [meet] the men¹⁴⁰⁶ and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for! Why have you come?”

²²They replied, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous man and one who fears God, someone well spoken of by all the nation of the Jews, was directed by a holy angel to invite you to his house and to listen to what you say.” ²³Then Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. On the next day, he arose and went out with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴The following day, they¹⁴⁰⁷ entered into Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them, having called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell down at his feet, and expressed adoration to¹⁴⁰⁸ him. ²⁶But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up! I am also a man!” ²⁷As he talked with Cornelius, he went in and found many people assembled. ²⁸Peter said to them, “You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit someone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean. ²⁹Therefore, I have come without complaint when I was sent for. And so, I ask, why did you send for me?”

³⁰Cornelius replied, “Four days ago, I was fasting until this hour, and at the ninth hour,¹⁴⁰⁹ I was praying in my house. And behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, ³¹and he said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer is heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. ³²Therefore, send [messengers] to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is staying in the house of Simon a tanner, by the seaside. He will speak to you.’ ³³And so, I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come! Now then, we are all here present in the sight of God to hear everything that God has commanded you.”

Peter’s speech—Cornelius and his household are baptized

³⁴Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly, I perceive that God does not show favoritism;^{1410 35}but in every nation, whoever fears him¹⁴¹¹ and works righteousness is acceptable to him. ³⁶[God] sent his word to the children of Israel, and the Good News of peace was preached by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. ³⁷You know what happened since the Good News was proclaimed throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee, after baptism was preached by John. ³⁸You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with [the]¹⁴¹² Holy Spirit and with power, how Jesus¹⁴¹³ went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. ³⁹We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put him to death, hanging him on a tree, ⁴⁰but God raised him up the third day and allowed him to be seen. ⁴¹Yet, he was not manifest to all the people but [only] to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God—that is, to us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one who is appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³It is to him that all the prophets bear witness: that through his Name, everyone who believes in him will receive remission of sins.”

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. ⁴⁵The believers who had come with Peter and who were of the circumcision were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶Indeed, they heard them speaking in other languages¹⁴¹⁴ and magnifying God.

At this, Peter said, ⁴⁷”Can anyone refuse the water to these people, seeing that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we [have], and say that they should not be baptized?” ⁴⁸He then ordered that they be baptized in the Name of the Lord. After this, they asked him to stay for a few days.

Peter returns to Jerusalem—He explains his actions in Caesarea

1400. 3:00 pm
1401. TR adds “This one will tell you what it is necessary for you to do.”
1402. noon
1403. Or “the sky”
1404. Or “container/object”
1405. MT omits “three”
1406. TR adds “who had been sent to him from Cornelius”
1407. Some manuscripts read “he” instead of “they”
1408. proskuneo can also be translated “worship (in the broad sense),” “venerate,” “fall down in reverence,” “do obeisance” (see NT introduction regarding proskuneo)
1409. 3:00 pm
1410. Or “discrimination/partiality”—literally: “God is not a respecter of persons”
1411. Or perhaps “who is awed by him”
1412. The Greek actually uses the indefinite
1413. Greek “he”
1414. Or “tongues”