Act 10 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius , a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort ,

Acts 10

Cornelius’s Vision

1 Now there was a man at ^aCaesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was ^bcalled the Italian ^{▼▼ Or battalion}cohort, 2 a devout man and ^done who feared God with all his household, and ^egave many ^{▼▼ Or gifts of charity}alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. 3 About ^gthe ^{▼▼ I.e. 3 p.m.}ninth hour of the day he clearly saw ⁱin a vision ^jan angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” 4 And ^kfixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and ^{▼▼ Or deeds of charity}alms ^mhave ascended ⁿas a memorial before God. 5 “Now dispatch some men to ^oJoppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; 6 he is staying with a tanner named ^pSimon, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his ^{▼▼ Or household slaves}servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, 8 and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to ^rJoppa.

9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, ^sPeter went up on ^tthe housetop about ^uthe ^{▼▼ I.e. noon}sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he ^wfell into a trance; 11 and he saw ^xthe ^{▼▼ Or heaven}sky opened up, and an ^{▼▼ Or vessel}object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and ^{▼▼ Or reptiles}crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the ^{▼▼ Or heaven}air. 13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, ^{▼▼ Or sacrifice}kill and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, ^adLord, for ^aeI have never eaten anything ^{▼▼ Or profane; lit common}unholy and unclean.” 15 Again a voice came to him a second time, ^ag“What God has cleansed, no longer consider ^{▼▼ Lit make common}unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the ^{▼▼ Or vessel}object was taken up into the ^{▼▼ Or heaven}sky.

17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in ^{▼▼ Lit himself}mind as to what ^althe vision which he had seen might be, behold, ^amthe men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; 18 and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. 19 While Peter was reflecting on ^anthe vision, ^aothe Spirit said to him, “Behold, ^{▼▼ One early ms reads two}three men are looking for you. 20 “But get up, go downstairs and ^aqaccompany them ^{▼▼ Lit doubting nothing}without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” 21 Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and ^asGod-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, ^atwas divinely directed by a ^auholy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear ^{▼▼ Lit words
,} ^awa message from you.” 23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.

Peter at Caesarea

And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and ^axsome of ^aythe brethren from ^azJoppa accompanied him. 24 On the following day he entered ^baCaesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and ^{▼▼ Or prostrated himself in reverence
,} ^bcworshiped him. 26 But Peter raised him up, saying, ^bd“Stand up; I too am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and found ^bemany people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how ^bfunlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet ^bgGod has shown me that I should not call any man ^{▼▼ Or profane; lit common}unholy or unclean. 29 “That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”

30 Cornelius said, ^bi“Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during ^bjthe ^{▼▼ I.e. 3 to 4 p.m.}ninth hour; and behold, ^bla man stood before me in shining garments, 31 and he said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your ^{▼▼ Or deeds of charity}alms have been remembered before God. 32 ‘Therefore send to ^bnJoppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ 33 “So I sent for you immediately, and you have ^{▼▼ Lit done well in coming}been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear Good News

34 ^bpOpening his mouth, Peter said:

“I most certainly understand now that ^bqGod is not one to show partiality, 35 but ^brin every nation the man who ^{▼▼ Or reverences
,} ^btfears Him and ^{▼▼ Lit works righteousness}does what is right is welcome to Him. 36 “The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, ^bvpreaching ^{▼▼ Or the gospel of peace
,} ^bxpeace through Jesus Christ (He is ^byLord of all)— 37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 ^{▼▼ Or How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth}“You know of ^caJesus of Nazareth, how God ^cbanointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, ^{▼▼ Lit who went
,} ^cdand how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for ^ceGod was with Him. 39 “We are ^cfwitnesses of all the things He did both in the ^{▼▼ Or countryside}land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also ^chput Him to death by hanging Him on a ^{▼▼ Lit wood}cross. 40 ^cj“God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, 41 ^cknot to all the people, but to ^clwitnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us ^cmwho ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 “And He ^cnordered us to ^{▼▼ Or proclaim}preach to the people, and solemnly to ^cptestify that this is the One who has been ^cqappointed by God as ^crJudge of the living and the dead. 43 “Of Him ^csall the prophets bear witness that through ^ctHis name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, ^cuthe Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the ^{▼▼ Lit word}message. 45 ^cwAll the ^{▼▼ Lit believers from among the circumcision; i.e. Jewish Christians}circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been ^cypoured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they were hearing them ^czspeaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, 47 ^da“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who ^dbhave received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48 And he ^dcordered them to be baptized ^ddin the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.