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11:1  Now the apostles and the 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].
11:2  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [certain Jewish believers who followed the Law] took issue with him [for violating Jewish customs],
11:3  saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and [even] ate with them!”
11:4  But Peter began [at the beginning] and explained [the events] to them step by step, saying,
11:5  “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a 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,
11:6  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],
11:7  and I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’
11:8  But I said, ‘Not at all, Lord; for nothing common (unholy) or [ceremonially] unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
11:9  But the voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed and pronounced clean, no longer consider common (unholy).’
11:10  This happened three times, and everything was drawn up again into heaven.
11:11  And right then the three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying.
11:12  The Spirit told me to go with them without the slightest hesitation. So these six brothers also went with me and we went to the man’s house.
11:13  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;
11:14  he will bring a message to you by which you will be saved [and granted eternal life], you and all your household.’
11:15  When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as He did on us at the beginning [at Pentecost].
11:16  Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
11:17  So, if God gave Gentiles the same gift [equally] as He gave us after we accepted and believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ [as Savior], who was I to interfere or stand in God’s way?”
11:18  When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified and praised God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance that leads to eternal life [that is, real life after earthly death].”
11:19  So 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 Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without telling the message [of salvation through Christ] to anyone except Jews.
11:20  But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming [to them] the good news about the Lord Jesus.
11:21  And the hand (the power and presence) of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord [for salvation, accepting and drawing near to Jesus as Messiah and Savior].
11:22  The news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
11:23  When he arrived and saw the 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.
11:24  For Barnabas was a good man [privately and publicly—his godly character benefited both himself and others] and he was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith [in Jesus the Messiah, through whom believers have everlasting life]. And a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
11:25  And Barnabas left for Tarsus to search for Saul;
11:26  and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
11:27  Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
11:28  One of them named Agabus stood up and prophesied through the [Holy] Spirit that a severe famine would come on the entire world. And this did happen during the reign of Claudius.
11:29  So the disciples decided to send a contribution, each according to his individual ability, to the believers who lived in Judea.
11:30  And this they did, sending the contribution to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.