Peter Reports in Jerusalem

1Now the apostles and the brothers and sisters who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, [a]the Jewish believers took issue with him, 3saying, “You [b]went to [c]uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4But Peter began and explained at length to them in an orderly sequence, saying, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an [d]object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came to where I was, 6and I stared at it and was thinking about it, and I saw the four-footed animals of the earth, the wild animals, the [e]crawling creatures, and the birds of the sky. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; [f]kill and eat.’ 8But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing [g]unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer [h]consider unholy.’ 10This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. 11And behold, at that moment three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea came up to the house where we were staying. 12And the Spirit told me to go with them without [i]misgivings. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13And he reported to us how he had seen the angel [j]standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send some men to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [k]with the Holy Spirit.’ 17Therefore, if God gave them the same gift as He also gave to us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could [l]stand in God’s way?” 18When they heard this, they [m]quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has also granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

19So then those who were scattered because of the [n]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [o]to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the [p]Greeks as well, preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22The [q]news about them [r]reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off [s]to Antioch. 23Then when he arrived and [t]witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [u]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And [v]considerable numbers were added to the Lord. 25And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they [w]met with the church and taught [x]considerable numbers of people; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

27Now [y]at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them, named Agabus, stood up and [z]indicated [aa]by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the [ab]world. [ac]And this took place in the reign of Claudius. 29And to the extent that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the [ad]relief of the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30And they did this, sending it [ae]with Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

[a] 2 Lit those from the circumcision
[b] 3 Or entered the house of
[c] 3 I.e., Gentiles
[d] 5 Or vessel
[e] 6 Or reptiles
[f] 7 Or sacrifice
[g] 8 Or profane; lit common
[h] 9 Lit make common
[i] 12 Or making any distinction
[j] 13 Or after he had stood in his house and said
[k] 16 Or in
[l] 17 Lit prevent God
[m] 18 Lit became silent
[n] 19 Lit tribulation
[o] 19 Lit as far as
[p] 20 Lit Hellenists; people who lived by Greek customs and culture
[q] 22 Lit word
[r] 22 Lit was heard in
[s] 22 Lit as far as
[t] 23 Lit saw
[u] 23 Lit purpose of heart
[v] 24 Lit a considerable crowd was
[w] 26 Or were gathered together
[x] 26 Lit a considerable crowd
[y] 27 Lit in these days
[z] 28 I.e., a prophetic communication of some kind
[aa] 28 Or through
[ab] 28 Lit inhabited earth
[ac] 28 Lit which took place
[ad] 29 Lit service
[ae] 30 Lit by the hand of