Acts 10-12

21st Century King James Version

10 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian Band,

² a devout man and one who feared God with all his house, who gave many alms to the people and prayed to God always.

³ He saw in a vision clearly, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him and saying unto him, “Cornelius!”

⁴ And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, “What is it, lord?” And he said unto him, “Thy prayers and thine alms have risen up as a memorial before God.

⁵ And now send men to Joppa and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.

⁶ He lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside; he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.”

⁷ And when the angel who spoke unto Cornelius had departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier from those who waited on him continually.

⁸ And when he had related all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹ On the morrow, as they went on their journey and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour.

¹⁰ And he became very hungry and would have eaten; but while they were making ready he fell into a trance,

¹¹ and saw heaven opened and a certain vessel descending unto him as though it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners and let down to the earth,

¹² wherein were all kinds of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts and creeping things and fowls of the air.

¹³ And there came a voice to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

¹⁴ But Peter said, “Not so, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”

¹⁵ And the voice spoke unto him again the second time, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”

¹⁶ This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter wondered to himself what this vision which he had seen could mean, behold, the men who had been sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon’s house and stood before the gate,

¹⁸ and called and asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, was lodged there.

¹⁹ While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, “Behold, three men seek thee.

²⁰ Arise therefore, and get thee down and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.”

²¹ Then Peter went down to the men who were sent unto him from Cornelius and said, “Behold, I am he whom ye seek. What is the cause for which ye have come?”

²² And they said, “Cornelius the centurion, a just man and one who feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house and to hear words from thee.”

²³ Then Peter called them in and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴ And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends.

²⁵ And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.

²⁶ But Peter took him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself also am a man.”

²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together.

²⁸ And he said unto them, “Ye know that it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to keep company with or to come unto one of another nation. But God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

²⁹ Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying as soon as I was sent for. I ask therefore, with what intent ye have sent for me?”

³⁰ And Cornelius said, “Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms have been remembered in the sight of God.

³² Send therefore to Joppa and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter. He is lodged in the house of one Simon, a tanner, by the seaside. He, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.’

³³ Immediately therefore I sent to thee, and thou hast done well, that thou hast come. Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee from God.”

³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “In truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons,

³⁵ but in every nation he that feareth Him and worketh righteousness is accepted by Him.

³⁶ The Word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all) —

³⁷ that Word, I say, ye know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached:

³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

³⁹ And we are witnesses of all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem — He whom they hanged on a tree and slew.

⁴⁰ Him God raised up the third day and showed Him openly,

⁴¹ not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

⁴² And He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be the Judge of the quick and dead.

⁴³ To Him all the prophets bear witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins.”

⁴⁴ While Peter was yet speaking these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all those who heard the Word.

⁴⁵ And those of the Circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Ghost was poured out also on the Gentiles.

⁴⁶ For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

⁴⁷ “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Ghost, as well as we?”

⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they entreated him to tarry certain days.

11 And the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also received the Word of God.

² And when Peter had come up to Jerusalem, those who were of the Circumcision contended with him,

³ saying, “Thou wentest in to uncircumcised men and didst eat with them.”

⁴ But Peter reviewed the matter from the beginning and expounded it in order unto them, saying,

⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. A certain vessel descended as though it had been a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners, and it came even to me.

⁶ And when I had fastened my eyes on it, I considered it and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things and fowls of the air.

⁷ And I heard a voice saying unto me, ‘Arise, Peter; slay and eat.’

⁸ But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.’

⁹ But the voice answered me again from heaven, ‘What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.’

¹⁰ And this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.

¹¹ And behold, immediately three men had already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me.

¹² And the Spirit bade me go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house.

¹³ And he showed us how he had seen an angel in his house, who stood and said unto him, ‘Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter,

¹⁴ who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all of thy house shall be saved.’

¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.’

¹⁷ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He did unto us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸ When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”

¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose on account of Stephen, traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only.

²⁰ And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spoke unto the Greeks, preaching the Lord Jesus.

²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord.

²² Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem, and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.

²³ And when he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord,

²⁴ for he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. And many people were added unto the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas departed to Tarsus to seek out Saul;

²⁶ and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass that for a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught many people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

²⁷ And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.

²⁸ And one of them named Agabus stood up, and signified by the Spirit that there would be a great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar.

²⁹ Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren who dwelt in Judea.

³⁰ This also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³ And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (This was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.)

⁴ And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

⁵ Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him.

⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, that same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers were guarding the door of the prison.

⁷ And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise up quickly.” And his chains fell off from his hands.

⁸ And the angel said unto him, “Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals.” And so he did. And the angel said unto him, “Cast thy garment about thee and follow me.”

⁹ And he went out and followed him, and knew not whether what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision.

¹⁰ When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of his own accord. And they went out and passed on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know in truth that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectations of the people of the Jews.”

¹² And when he had considered this thing, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel named Rhoda came to ask who was there.

¹⁴ And when she recognized Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter stood before the gate.

¹⁵ And they said unto her, “Thou art mad.” But she continued to affirm that it was even so. Then they said, “It is his angel.”

¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁷ But he, beckoning unto them with his hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go and tell these things unto James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went into another place.

¹⁸ Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

¹⁹ And when Herod had sought him and found him not, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and there stayed.

²⁰ And Herod was highly displeased with those from Tyre and Sidon. But they came with one accord to him and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was nourished by the king’s country.

²¹ And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and delivered an oration unto them.

²² And the people gave a shout, saying, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!”

²³ And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and gave up the ghost.

²⁴ But the Word of God grew and multiplied.

²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.