1 And the apostles and the brethren who are in Judea heard that also the nations did receive the word of God, 2 and when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision were contending with him, 3 saying — 'Unto men uncircumcised thou didst go in, and didst eat with them!' 4 And Peter having begun, did expound to them in order saying, 5 'I was in the city of Joppa praying, and I saw in a trance a vision, a certain vessel coming down, as a great sheet by four corners being let down out of the heaven, and it came unto me; 6 at which having looked stedfastly, I was considering, and I saw the four-footed beasts of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of heaven; 7 and I heard a voice saying to me, Having risen, Peter, slay and eat; 8 and I said, Not so, Lord; because anything common or unclean hath at no time entered into my mouth; 9 and a voice did answer me a second time out of the heaven, What God did cleanse, thou — declare not thou common. 10 'And this happened thrice, and again was all drawn up to the heaven, 11 and, lo, immediately, three men stood at the house in which I was, having been sent from Caesarea unto me, 12 and the Spirit said to me to go with them, nothing doubting, and these six brethren also went with me, and we did enter into the house of the man, 13 he declared also to us how he saw the messenger in his house standing, and saying to him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, who is surnamed Peter, 14 who shall speak sayings by which thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house. 15 'And in my beginning to speak, the Holy Spirit did fall upon them, even as also upon us in the beginning, 16 and I remembered the saying of the Lord, how he said, John indeed did baptize with water, and ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit; 17 if then the equal gift God did give to them as also to us, having believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, I — how was I able to withstand God?' 18 And they, having heard these things, were silent, and were glorifying God, saying, 'Then, indeed, also to the nations did God give the reformation to life.' 19 Those, indeed, therefore, having been scattered abroad, from the tribulation that came after Stephen, went through unto Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to none except to Jews only; 20 and there were certain of them men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who having entered into Antioch, were speaking unto the Hellenists, proclaiming good news — the Lord Jesus, 21 and the hand of the Lord was with them, a great number also, having believed, did turn unto the Lord. 22 And the account was heard in the ears of the assembly that [is] in Jerusalem concerning them, and they sent forth Barnabas to go through unto Antioch, 23 who, having come, and having seen the grace of God, was glad, and was exhorting all with purpose of heart to cleave to the Lord, 24 because he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith, and a great multitude was added to the Lord. 25 And Barnabas went forth to Tarsus, to seek for Saul, 26 and having found him, he brought him to Antioch, and it came to pass that they a whole year did assemble together in the assembly, and taught a great multitude, the disciples also were divinely called first in Antioch Christians. 27 And in those days there came from Jerusalem prophets to Antioch, 28 and one of them, by name Agabus, having stood up, did signify through the Spirit a great dearth is about to be throughout all the world — which also came to pass in the time of Claudius Caesar — 29 and the disciples, according as any one was prospering, determined each of them to send for ministration to the brethren dwelling in Judea, 30 which also they did, having sent unto the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
Acts · Young's Literal Translation
Acts 11 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Agabus
A prophet who foretold a great famine in the days of Claudius and later bound his feet and hands with Paul's belt to predict Paul's arrest at Jerusalem.
Cited in the guide: Acts 11:28; Acts 21:10
Barnabas
A Levite from Cyprus named Joseph and nicknamed Barnabas, 'son of encouragement,' who sold a field for the church, brought Saul to the apostles, and traveled with him as a…
Cited in the guide: Acts 4:36; Acts 9:27; Acts 11:22
Claudius
The emperor in whose reign the great famine predicted by Agabus occurred; he ordered all Jews to leave Rome, which brought Aquila and Priscilla to Corinth.
Cited in the guide: Acts 11:28; Acts 18:2
Places
Antioch (Syrian)
The empire's third-largest city and the first major Gentile church — the launching base for Paul's journeys. (Distinct from Pisidian Antioch.)
Cited in the guide: Acts 11:26; Acts 13:1-3; Galatians 2:11
Cross references (29)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Psalm 22:27; Malachi 1:11; Romans 15:7–12; Isaiah 32:15; Acts 14:27
- 2 Acts 10:45; Acts 15:1; Galatians 2:12–14; Acts 21:20–23; Acts 10:9
- 3 Acts 10:28; Galatians 2:12; Luke 15:2; Acts 10:23; 1 Corinthians 5:11
- 4 Luke 1:3; Acts 14:27; Joshua 22:21–31; Proverbs 15:1
- 5 Acts 10:9–32; Amos 8:2; Acts 22:17; Amos 7:4–7; Acts 9:10
- 6 Luke 4:20; Acts 3:4
- 8 Romans 14:14; 1 Corinthians 7:14; Hosea 9:3; Leviticus 10:10; Leviticus 11:47
- 9 Acts 15:9; Hebrews 9:13–14; Acts 10:34–35; Acts 10:28; 1 Timothy 4:5
- 10 John 13:38; John 21:17; Numbers 24:10; 2 Corinthians 12:8
- 11 Acts 9:10–12; Exodus 4:27; Exodus 4:14; Acts 10:17–18
- 12 Acts 8:29; Romans 3:22; 2 Thessalonians 2:2; Acts 10:23; Acts 10:45
- 13 Acts 10:30–32; Acts 10:22; Acts 9:43; Acts 10:3–6; Acts 12:11
- 14 Acts 16:15; Acts 10:22; Acts 16:31–34; Acts 10:2; Genesis 17:7
- 15 Acts 19:6; Acts 10:34–46; Acts 2:2–12; Acts 4:31
- 16 Acts 1:5; Mark 1:8; Proverbs 1:23; Luke 3:16; Matthew 3:11
- 17 Acts 10:47; Romans 9:20–26; Romans 11:34–36; Job 33:13; Acts 15:8–9
- 18 Romans 10:12–13; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Timothy 2:25–26; Acts 20:21
- 19 Acts 15:35; Acts 15:3; Acts 21:2; Acts 4:36; Acts 15:22
- 20 Acts 13:1; Matthew 27:32; Ephesians 3:8; Acts 6:9; Acts 2:10
- 21 Acts 2:47; Luke 1:66; Acts 5:14; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; Acts 9:35
- 22 Acts 9:27; Acts 15:22; Acts 8:14; Acts 11:1; 1 Thessalonians 3:6
- 23 1 Corinthians 15:58; Acts 14:22; 1 John 2:28; Acts 13:43; 2 Timothy 3:10
- 24 Acts 5:14; Acts 11:21; Psalm 112:5; Acts 9:31; Acts 6:5
- 25 Acts 9:11; Acts 9:30; Acts 9:27; Acts 21:39
- 26 1 Peter 4:16; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:14; 1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 12:12
- 27 Acts 13:1; 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11; Matthew 23:34; Acts 15:32
- 28 Acts 21:10; Acts 18:2; Luke 2:1; Luke 3:1; 1 Kings 17:1–16
- 29 2 Corinthians 8:12–14; 2 Corinthians 8:2–4; Galatians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 16:1–2; Romans 15:25–27
- 30 Acts 12:25; Acts 14:23; 1 Timothy 5:17; Acts 15:6; Acts 15:4
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
The persecution turned out to be no slight benefit as "to them that love God all things work together for good." (Rom. viii. 28.) If they had made it their express study how best to establish the Church, they would have done no other thing than this--they dispersed the teachers. Mark in what quarters the preaching was extended.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
Then the disciples, every one according to his ability, determined to send relief to the elders for the brethren which dwelt in Judæa, which also they did by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." And in the case of the necessaries presented to him, wherewith the same Apostle Paul when setting sail was laden, food seems to have been furnished …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
And ye, when there is a question of precedence, claim to take place of the whole word, forasmuch as our city first crowned itself with the name of Christian; but in the competition of chastity, ye are not ashamed to be behind the rudest cities.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
For it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians after the Lord's ascension, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: and certain houses were afterwards called by the new names of hospices and monasteries; but the things themselves existed prior to their names, and are confirmed by religious truth, which also forms their defense against …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)
For although the disciples of Christ were not yet called by such a name,--because it was after His ascension, in Antioch, first that the disciples began to be called Christians, --yet the thing itself, that afterwards assumed such a name, already existed, those who were afterwards called Christians were already disciples; and this common name, like the common faith, they …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)