Now the apostles and ^athe brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^1athose who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “^aYou ¹went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began speaking ¹and proceeded to explain to them ^ain orderly sequence, saying, 5 “^aI was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^ba vision, an ¹object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from ²the sky; and it came right down to me, 6 and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it ¹I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the ²crawling creatures and the birds of the ³air. 7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; ¹kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing ¹unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^aWhat God has cleansed, no longer ¹consider unholy.’ 10 This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into ¹the sky. 11 And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from ^aCaesarea. 12 ^aThe Spirit told me to go with them ^1bwithout misgivings. ^cThese six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel ¹standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 and he will speak ^awords to you by which you will be saved, you and ^ball your household.’ 15 And as I began to speak, ^athe Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^bas He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^aJohn baptized with water, but you will be baptized ¹with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore if ^aGod gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^bwho was I that I could ¹stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they ¹quieted down and ^aglorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the ^brepentance that leads to life.”

19 ^aSo then those who were scattered because of the ¹persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ²to ^bPhoenicia and ^cCyprus and ^dAntioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of ^aCyprus and ^bCyrene, who came to ^cAntioch and began speaking to the ^1dGreeks also, ^2epreaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And ^athe hand of the Lord was with them, and ^ba large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The ¹news about them ²reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent ^aBarnabas off ³to ^bAntioch. 23 Then when he arrived and ¹witnessed ^athe grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with ²resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and ^afull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And ^bconsiderable ¹numbers were ²brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for ^aTarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to ^aAntioch. And for an entire year they ¹met with the church and taught considerable ²numbers; and ^bthe disciples were first called ^cChristians in ^dAntioch.

27 Now ¹at this time ^asome prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^bAntioch. 28 One of them named ^aAgabus stood up and began to indicate ¹by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine ^ball over the ²world. ³And this took place in the reign of ^cClaudius. 29 And in the proportion that any of ^athe disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the ¹relief of ^bthe brethren living in Judea. 30 ^aAnd this they did, sending it ¹in charge of ^bBarnabas and Saul to the ^celders.

Now the apostles and ^athe believers who were throughout Judea heard with astonishment that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God the message concerning salvation through Christ. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ^athose of the circumcision certain Jewish believers who followed the Law took issue with him for violating Jewish customs, 3 saying, “^aYou went to uncircumcised men and even ate with them!” 4 But Peter began at the beginning and explained the events to them ^astep by step, saying, 5 “^aI was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^ba vision of an object coming down from heaven, like a huge sheet being lowered by the four corners; and it descended until it came right down to me, 6 and looking closely at it, I saw all kinds of the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air both clean and unclean according to the Law, 7 and I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘Not at all, Lord; for nothing common (unholy) or ceremonially unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^aWhat God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy) .’ 10 This happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And right then the three men who had been sent to me from ^aCaesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. 12 ^aThe Spirit told me to go with them ^bwithout the slightest hesitation. So ^cthese six brothers also went with me and we went to the man’s house. 13 And Cornelius told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send word to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 he will bring ^aa message to you by which you will be saved and granted eternal life, you and ^ball your household.’ 15 When I began to speak, ^athe Holy Spirit fell on them just ^bas He did on us at the beginning at Pentecost. Acts 2:1-4 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^aJohn baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So, if ^aGod gave Gentiles the same gift equally as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, ^bwho was I to interfere or stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they quieted down and ^aglorified and praised God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles ^brepentance that leads to eternal life that is, real life after earthly death.”

19 ^aSo then since they were unaware of these developments those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with the stoning of Stephen traveled as far as ^bPhoenicia and ^cCyprus and ^dAntioch, without telling the message of salvation through Christ to anyone except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of ^aCyprus and ^bCyrene, who came to ^cAntioch and began speaking to the ^dGreeks as well, ^eproclaiming to them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 And ^athe hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and ^ba great number who believed turned to the Lord for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior. 22 The news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent ^aBarnabas to ^bAntioch. 23 When he arrived and saw ^athe grace of God that was bestowed on them, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with an unwavering heart to stay true and devoted to the Lord. 24 For Barnabas was a good man privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others and he was ^afull of the Holy Spirit and full of faith in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life. And a ^bgreat number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 And Barnabas left for ^aTarsus to search for Saul; 26 and when he found him, he brought him back to ^aAntioch. For an entire year they met with others in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in ^bAntioch that ^cthe disciples were first called ^dChristians. Acts 26:28; 1+@Pet 4:16

27 Now at this time ^asome prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^bAntioch. 28 One of them named ^aAgabus stood up and prophesied through the Holy Spirit that a severe famine would come ^bon the ¹entire world. And this did happen during the reign of ^2cClaudius. 29 So ^athe disciples decided to send a contribution, each according to his individual ability, to ^bthe believers who lived in Judea. 30 ^aAnd this they did, sending the contribution to the ^belders by ^cBarnabas and Saul.

Now the apostles and ^athe brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, ^1athose who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “^aYou ¹went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began speaking ¹and proceeded to explain to them ^ain orderly sequence, saying, 5 “^aI was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw ^ba vision, ¹an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from heaven, and it came right down to me, 6 and when looking closely at it, I was observing it and saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the ¹sky. 7 And I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise up, Peter; ¹slaughter and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing defiled or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘^aWhat God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.’ 10 And this happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into heaven. 11 And behold, immediately three men appeared at the house in which we were, having been sent to me from ^aCaesarea. 12 ^aAnd the Spirit told me to go with them ^1bwithout taking issue at all. ^cThese 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 ¹standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is also called Peter; 14 and he will speak ^awords to you by which you will be saved, you and ^ball your household.’ 15 And as I began to speak, ^athe Holy Spirit fell upon them just ^bas He did upon us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘^aJohn baptized with water, but you will be baptized ¹with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 Therefore if ^aGod gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^bwho was I that I could prevent God’s way?” 18 And when they heard this, they ¹quieted down and ^aglorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the ^brepentance that leads to life.”

19 ^aSo then those who were scattered because of the ¹persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way ²to ^bPhoenicia and ^cCyprus and ^dAntioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of ^aCyprus and ^bCyrene, who came to ^cAntioch and began speaking to the ^1dGreeks also, ^eproclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And ^athe hand of the Lord was with them, and ^ba large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 Now the ¹news about them ²reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent ^aBarnabas off ³to ^bAntioch, 23 who, when he arrived and saw ^athe grace of God, rejoiced and began to encourage them all with a purposeful heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and ^afull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a ^bconsiderable crowd was ¹brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for ^aTarsus to search for Saul; 26 and when he found him, he brought him to ^aAntioch. And it happened that for an entire year they ¹met with the church and taught a considerable crowd. And ^bthe disciples were first called ^cChristians in ^dAntioch.

27 Now in those days, ^asome prophets came down from Jerusalem to ^bAntioch. 28 And one of them named ^aAgabus stood up and indicated ¹by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine ^ball over the ²world. ³And this took place in the reign of ^cClaudius. 29 And as any of ^athe disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the service of ^bthe brothers living in Judea. 30 ^aAnd this they did, sending it ¹in charge of ^bBarnabas and Saul to the ^celders.