Act 11 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God .

‏ Acts 11

Peter Reports in Jerusalem

1 Now the apostles and ^athe brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^{▼▼Lit those from the circumcision} ^cthe Jewish believers took issue with him, 3 saying, “ ^dYou ^{▼▼Or entered the house of}went to ^{▼▼I.e., Gentiles}uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained at length to them ^gin an orderly sequence, saying, 5 “ ^hI was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ⁱa vision, an ^{▼▼Or vessel}object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, 6 and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the ^{▼▼Or reptiles}crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; ^{▼▼Or sacrifice}kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing ^{▼▼Or profane; lit common}unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘ ⁿWhat God has cleansed, no longer ^{▼▼Lit make common}consider unholy.’ 10 This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11 And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from ^pCaesarea came up to the house where we were staying. 12 ^qAnd the Spirit told me to go with them ^rwithout ^{▼▼Or making any distinction}misgivings. ^tThese six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel ^{▼▼Or after he had stood in his house and said}standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 and he will speak ^vwords to you by which you will be saved, you and ^wall your household.’ 15 And as I began to speak, ^xthe Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^yas He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘ ^zJohn baptized with water, but you will be baptized ^{▼▼Or in}with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore, if ^abGod gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^acwho was I that I could ^{▼▼Lit prevent God}stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they ^{▼▼Lit became silent}quieted down and ^afglorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the ^agrepentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

19 ^ahSo then those who were scattered because of the ^{▼▼Lit tribulation}persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ^{▼▼Lit as far as}to ^akPhoenicia, ^alCyprus, and ^amAntioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of ^anCyprus and ^aoCyrene, who came to ^apAntioch and began speaking to the ^{▼▼Lit Hellenists; people who lived by Greek customs and culture} ^arGreeks as well, ^aspreaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And ^atthe hand of the Lord was with them, and ^aua large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The ^{▼▼Lit word}news about them ^{▼▼Lit was heard in}reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent ^axBarnabas off ^{▼▼Lit as far as}to ^azAntioch. 23 Then when he arrived and ^{▼▼Lit saw}witnessed ^bbthe grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with ^{▼▼Lit purpose of heart}resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and ^bdfull of the Holy Spirit and faith. And ^{▼▼Lit a considerable crowd was} ^bfconsiderable numbers were added to the Lord. 25 And he left for ^bgTarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to ^bhAntioch. And for an entire year they ^{▼▼Or were gathered together}met with the church and taught ^{▼▼Lit a considerable crowd}considerable numbers of people; and ^bkthe disciples were first called ^blChristians in ^bmAntioch.

27 Now ^{▼▼Lit in these days}at this time some ^boprophets came down from Jerusalem to ^bpAntioch. 28 One of them, named ^bqAgabus, stood up and ^{▼▼I.e., a prophetic communication of some kind}indicated ^{▼▼Or through}by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine ^btall over the ^{▼▼Lit inhabited earth}world. ^{▼▼Lit which took place}And this took place in the reign of ^bwClaudius. 29 And to the extent that any of ^bxthe disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the ^{▼▼Lit service}relief of ^bzthe brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 ^caAnd they did this, sending it ^{▼▼Lit by the hand of}with ^ccBarnabas and Saul to the ^cdelders.