Acts 10-11
Expanded Bible
Peter Teaches Cornelius
10 At Caesarea [C a coastal city, 25 miles south of Mount Carmel; a center of Roman government for Palestine] there was a man named Cornelius, ·an officer [L a centurion; C an officer in charge of about a hundred soldiers] in the Italian ·group of the Roman army [L cohort; regiment; C a cohort was about six hundred soldiers]. 2 Cornelius was a ·religious [pious; godly] man. He and all ·the other people who lived in his house [his household] ·worshiped the true God [L feared God; C “God-fearers” were Gentiles who worshiped the one true God of Israel]. He gave much of his money to ·the poor [or the Jewish people; L the people] and prayed to God often. 3 ·One afternoon about three o’clock [L About the ninth hour of the day], Cornelius clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at the angel. He ·became afraid [was terrified] and said, “What do you want, ·Lord [or sir]?”
The angel said, “·God has heard your prayers. He has seen that you give to the poor, and he remembers you [L Your prayers and your alms have gone up to God as a memorial/memorial offering]. 5 Send some men now to Joppa [9:36] to bring back a man named Simon who is also called Peter. 6 He is staying [as a guest] with a man, ·also named Simon, who is a tanner [or named Simon Byrseus; 9:43] and has a house beside the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, Cornelius called two of his ·servants [household slaves/servants] and a soldier, a ·religious [devout; pious; godly] man who ·worked for him [or was on his staff; or was loyal to him]. 8 Cornelius explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.
9 About ·noon [L the sixth hour] the next day as they ·came near Joppa [L journeyed and drew near the city], Peter was going up to the roof [C in ancient Israel flat roofs were used as living spaces and for storage] to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he ·had a vision [or fell into a trance]. 11 He saw heaven opened and ·something [an object] coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of ·animals [L four-footed creatures], reptiles, and birds [L of the air/sky]. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “·No [Absolutely not], Lord! I have never eaten food that is ·unholy [profane; common] or ·unclean [ritually defiled; C the OT food laws differentiated Israelites from Gentiles; Lev. 11; Ezek. 4:13–15].”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ·‘unholy’ [‘profane’; ‘common’]!” 16 This happened three times, and at once the ·sheet [L object; thing] was taken back to heaven.
17 While Peter was ·wondering [perplexed about] what this vision meant, [L look; T behold] the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They asked, “Is ·Simon Peter [L Simon who is called Peter] staying [as a guest] here?”
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “·Listen [L Look; T Behold], three men are looking for you. 20 [So; L But] Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without ·doubting [or hesitation], because I have sent them to you.”
21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are ·looking [searching] for. Why did you come here?”
22 They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, ·an army officer [L a centurion] and a ·good [righteous] man; he ·worships [L fears] God. ·All the people [L The whole Jewish nation] ·respect [speak well of; L testify to] him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.” 23 So Peter ·asked [invited] the men to come in and ·spend the night [L entertained them as guests; C an unusual gesture, since Jews would not normally invite Gentiles into their homes].
The next day Peter got ·ready [up] and went with them, and some of the ·followers [Jewish believers; L brothers] from Joppa joined him. 24 On the following day they came to Caesarea [10:1]. Cornelius was ·waiting for [expecting] them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am only a ·human [mortal].” 27 As he talked with Cornelius, Peter went inside where he ·saw [L found] many people gathered. 28 He said, “You people understand that it is against our law for Jewish people to associate with or visit anyone who is a ·foreigner [Gentile]. But God has shown me that I should not call any person unholy [profane; common] or unclean [defiled]. 29 That is why I did not ·argue [object] when I was asked to come here. Now, please tell me why you sent for me.”
30 Cornelius said, “Four days ago [10:3], I was praying in my house at this same time—·three o’clock in the afternoon [L at the ninth hour]. Suddenly, there was a man standing before me wearing ·shining [dazzling] clothes. 31 He said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and ·has seen that you give to the poor and remembers you [L your alms have been remembered by/before God]. 32 So send some men to Joppa and ask Simon [L who is called] Peter to come. Peter is staying [as a guest] in the house of a man, ·also named Simon, who is a tanner [or named Simon Byrseus; 9:43] and has a house beside the sea [see 10:5–6].’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was ·very good [kind] of you to come. Now we are all here ·before [in the presence of; or available to] God to hear everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”
34 Peter ·began to speak [L opened his mouth]: “I ·really [truly] understand now that ·to God every person is the same [God does not show favoritism/partiality]. 35 [L But] In every ·country [nation] God accepts anyone who ·worships [L fears] him and ·does what is right [practices righteousness]. 36 You know the ·message [word] that God has sent to the people of Israel ·is the Good News that peace [announcing/proclaiming the Gospel of peace that] has come through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lord of all people [C both Jews and Gentiles]! 37 You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after John [C the Baptist] preached to the people about baptism [Luke 3]. 38 You know about Jesus from Nazareth, that God ·gave him [L anointed him with] the Holy Spirit and power. You know how Jesus went everywhere doing good and healing those who were ·ruled [oppressed] by the devil, because God was with him. 39 We ·saw [witnessed] what Jesus did in [L the region/country of] Judea and in Jerusalem, but ·the Jews in Jerusalem [L they] killed him by hanging him on a ·cross [L tree]. 40 Yet, on the third day, God raised Jesus ·to life [or from the dead] and caused him to be seen, 41 not by all the people, but only by the witnesses God had already chosen. And we are those witnesses who ate and drank with him after he was raised from the dead. 42 He ·told [commanded] us to preach to the people and to ·tell them [testify; bear witness] that he is the one whom God ·chose [appointed; determined] to be the judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets ·say it is true [witnessed; testified] that all who believe in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins through Jesus’ name.”
44 While Peter was still saying ·this [L these words], the Holy Spirit ·came down [L fell] on all those who ·were listening [L heard the word/message]. 45 The ·Jewish [L circumcised] believers who came with Peter were ·amazed [astonished] that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been ·given [L poured out] even to the ·nations [Gentiles]. 46 [L For] ·These believers [L They] heard them speaking in different languages [L tongues; C either other languages or ecstatic utterance] and ·praising [magnifying] God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we did!” 48 So Peter ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Peter Returns to Jerusalem
11 The apostles and the ·believers [L brothers] in Judea heard that some Gentiles had accepted ·God’s teaching [L the word of God] too. 2 But when Peter ·came [went up] to Jerusalem, ·some people [L the circumcised; C Jewish Christians who believed that they should continue to obey certain Jewish regulations] ·argued with [criticized] him. 3 They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not circumcised and ate with them!”
4 So Peter ·started from the beginning [or began speaking] and explained ·the whole story [it in order/step by step] to them. 5 He said, “I was in the city of Joppa [9:36], and as I was praying, I had a vision while in a trance [10:10]. I saw ·something [L an object] that looked like a big sheet being lowered from heaven by its four corners. It came very close to me. 6 I looked [intently] inside it and saw ·animals [L four-footed creatures], wild beasts, reptiles, and birds [L of the sky/air]. 7 I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘·No [Absolutely not], Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy [profane; common] or ·unclean [ritually defiled; 10:14].’ 9 But the voice from heaven spoke again, ‘God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ·unholy [profane; common].’ 10 This happened three times. Then the whole thing was ·taken back [or pulled up] to heaven. 11 Right then [L look; T behold] three men who were sent to me from Caesarea came to the house where I was staying [10:17–19]. 12 The Spirit told me to go with them without ·doubting [or hesitation]. These six ·believers [L brothers] here also ·went with [accompanied] me, and we entered the house of ·Cornelius [L the man]. 13 He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and ·invite [summon; send for] Simon [L who is also called] Peter to come. 14 By the ·words [message] he will say to you, you and all your ·family [or household] will be saved.’ 15 When I began ·my speech [L to speak], the Holy Spirit ·came [L fell] on them just as he came on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized ·with [or in] water, but you will be baptized ·with [or in; or by] the Holy Spirit [1:5; Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16].’ 17 [L Therefore] Since God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, how could I ·stop [prevent; hinder] the work of God?”
18 When ·the believers [L they] heard this, they ·stopped arguing [ceased their objections; remained silent]. They ·praised [glorified] God and said, “So God ·is allowing [has given] even ·other nations [the Gentiles] ·to turn to him and live [L repentance (leading) to life].”
The Good News Comes to Antioch
19 Many of the believers were scattered when they were persecuted after Stephen was killed. Some of them went as far as Phoenicia [C northwest of Israel on the coast], Cyprus [C an island to the west of the coast of Syria], and Antioch [C an important city in Syria] telling the message to others, but only to Jews. 20 Some of these believers were people from Cyprus and Cyrene [C a city in North Africa]. When they came to Antioch, they spoke also to ·Greeks[a] [or Hellenists (see textual note); C in 6:1 and 9:29 the word refers to Greek-speaking Jews; here it refers to Greek-speaking Gentiles], telling them the ·Good News [Gospel] about the Lord Jesus. 21 ·The Lord was helping the believers [L The hand of the Lord was with them], and a large group of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 The church in Jerusalem heard about all of this, so they sent Barnabas [4:36; 9:26–27] to Antioch.
25 Then Barnabas went to the city of Tarsus [C Paul’s hometown in Cilicia; 9:11] to look for Saul, 26 and when he found Saul, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year Saul and Barnabas met with the church and taught many people there. In Antioch the ·followers [disciples] were called Christians for the first time [C highlighting that they were followers of Christ, and perhaps that they were no longer viewed as merely a sect within Judaism].
27 ·About that time [L In those days] some prophets came [L down] from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus [21:10], stood up and spoke ·with the help of [by the power of; through] the Holy Spirit. He said, “A severe famine is coming to the whole ·world [or inhabited world; C probably meaning the Roman empire].” (This happened when Claudius [C Roman emperor from ad 41–54] ruled.) 29 The ·followers [disciples] all decided to ·help [send relief to; L send (something) as a ministry for] the ·believers [brothers] who lived in Judea, as much as each one could. 30 They ·gathered the money [L did this] and ·gave it to Barnabas and Saul, who brought it to the elders in Judea [L sent it to the elders through the hand of Barnabas and Saul].
Footnotes
- Acts 11:20 Greeks Some Greek copies read “Hellenists,” non-Greeks who spoke Greek.
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