✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Acts 10

KJV · Chapter 10/28

1There was a certain man in Cesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,

2A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

3He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.

4And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

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

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

7And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;

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

9On 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:

10And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

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

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

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

14But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

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

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

17Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate,

18And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

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

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

21Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

30And 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,

31And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.

32Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.

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

34Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

35But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

36The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

37That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

38How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

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

40Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

41Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

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

43To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

44While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

45And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

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

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

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

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God prepares Peter with a vision of a sheet full of unclean animals, teaching him not to call impure what God has made clean. Peter goes to the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius, and the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles gathered there.

Explanation

This is a turning point in Acts: for the first time, Gentiles (non-Jews) receive the Holy Spirit and are baptized without first becoming Jews. The vision of the sheet breaks down a deep cultural and religious barrier for Peter, raised under strict Jewish dietary laws. Cornelius, a God-fearing Roman soldier, shows that sincere seeking is recognized by God regardless of ethnic origin. The episode confirms once and for all that the gospel is for all peoples, not an exclusive club.

Fun facts

  • Cornelius's 'Italian Regiment' was an auxiliary unit of the Roman army made up of recruits from Italy, confirmed by Roman historical records as having served in Syria-Palestine in the first century.
  • The Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) that forbade certain animals come from Leviticus 11 — which is why Peter's vision of eating 'reptiles and unclean birds' was so shocking to a practicing Jew.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Acts 10:1Cornelius was a mid-ranking Roman officer, commanding about a hundred soldiers. The Italian cohort was a military unit made up of recruits from Italy itself, serving in the province of Judea.
  2. Acts 10:2Cornelius is introduced as an unusual Gentile: devout, God-fearing along with his whole household, generous in giving alms, and devoted to prayer, even without having converted to Judaism.
  3. Acts 10:3The ninth hour was around 3 p.m., one of the fixed times for Jewish prayer. Cornelius, even as a Gentile, kept prayer habits similar to the Jews’ because he feared God, without yet being fully converted to the Jewish faith.
  4. Acts 10:4Startled by the angel’s appearance, Cornelius hears something unexpected: his prayers and alms had already “come up” before God as a memorial, proof that God already recognized his devotion even though he was a Gentile.
  5. Acts 10:5The angel gives a very practical instruction: send for a specific man, Simon, also called Peter, who was in another city, Joppa.
  6. Acts 10:6The angel spells out the exact address: Peter was staying at the house of another Simon, a tanner, by the sea — information precise enough to make him easy to find.
  7. Acts 10:7As soon as the angel disappears, Cornelius acts quickly, calling together two trusted servants and a devout soldier from among his own men.
  8. Acts 10:8After telling them everything that had happened, Cornelius sends these three men on the journey to Joppa, setting off the chain of events that will bring the two sides of the story together.
  9. Acts 10:9While Cornelius’s messengers are approaching Joppa, Peter goes up to the housetop to pray around noon, a simultaneous detail the narrative uses to link the two scenes.
  10. Acts 10:10Hungry, Peter waits for the food to be prepared, and it is during this ordinary interval of waiting that he has an ecstatic experience, a kind of trance.
  11. Acts 10:11The vision of the sheet brings every kind of animal, including species Jewish law classified as unclean and forbidden to eat. It is the centerpiece of the experience God uses to prepare Peter to understand the message that follows.
  12. Acts 10:12In the vision every kind of animal appears: four-footed creatures, reptiles, and birds, including species Jewish law classified as unclean and forbidden to eat.
  13. Acts 10:13A voice directly commands Peter to kill and eat the animals on the sheet, an instruction that runs against everything he had learned as an observant Jew.
  14. Acts 10:14Peter is referring to the Jewish dietary laws of Leviticus, which separated permitted animals from forbidden ones. The vision asks him to eat precisely the forbidden ones, which shocks him at first.
  15. Acts 10:15The voice repeats the command, saying Peter must not call unclean what God has already cleansed, planting the central idea he will only truly understand later on.
  16. Acts 10:16The scene repeats three times in a row before the sheet is taken back up into heaven, a repetition that reinforces the importance of the message for Peter.
  17. Acts 10:17While Peter is still trying to work out the meaning of the vision, Cornelius’s messengers already arrive and stand at the gate of the house asking for him — the practical explanation of the vision is literally knocking at the door.
  18. Acts 10:18The men confirm whether that was indeed where Simon, also called Peter, was staying, showing they knew exactly where to look.
  19. Acts 10:19While Peter is still processing the vision, the Holy Spirit intervenes directly, telling him that three men were looking for him.
  20. Acts 10:20The Spirit tells Peter to go down and go with the men without hesitating, assuring him that He Himself had sent them — removing any doubt about following unknown Gentiles.
  21. Acts 10:21Peter goes down and introduces himself directly to the messengers, asking the reason for their visit, still without knowing the full details of the situation.
  22. Acts 10:22The men explain who Cornelius is — a centurion respected even by the Jews themselves — and tell him that an angel instructed Cornelius to send for Peter to hear his message.
  23. Acts 10:23Peter lodges the messengers for a night, an ordinary gesture of hospitality, and the next day sets out with them, also bringing along some Christians from Joppa as witnesses to what would happen.
  24. Acts 10:24After another day of travel, they arrive in Caesarea, where Cornelius is already waiting for them, having gathered his relatives and close friends to hear Peter along with him.
  25. Acts 10:25Seeing Peter arrive, Cornelius falls at his feet in a gesture of worship, probably a common custom before important figures in the Roman culture of the time.
  26. Acts 10:26Peter immediately rejects this kind of reverence, reminding Cornelius that he too is only a man, not a divine figure to be worshipped.
  27. Acts 10:27Still talking at the entrance, Peter goes into the house and finds a much larger group of Gentiles gathered than he had probably expected.
  28. Acts 10:28Peter explains to Cornelius that avoiding close contact with Gentiles because of purity rules was a Jewish social custom, not necessarily a written law. The vision of the sheet was what changed his understanding of this.
  29. Acts 10:29Peter makes clear that he came without hesitation despite the cultural barrier, and asks directly what the specific reason for the summons was.
  30. Acts 10:30Cornelius tells his own side of the story: he was fasting and praying at home when he had the vision, beginning the account of how it all started on his end.
  31. Acts 10:31Cornelius repeats what the angel told him: that his prayers had been heard and his alms remembered by God, confirming the same message already told to the reader before.
  32. Acts 10:32Cornelius also repeats the exact instruction to send for Peter at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea, showing how the details match perfectly between the two visions.
  33. Acts 10:33Cornelius finishes by explaining why he gathered so many people: everyone there was ready and willing to hear everything God had commanded Peter to say.
  34. Acts 10:34Peter arrives at the conclusion that God is “no respecter of persons”: He welcomes anyone who fears Him and does what is right, whether Jew or Gentile, with no preferential treatment based on ethnic origin.
  35. Acts 10:35Peter concludes that God accepts anyone, from any nation, who fears Him and lives righteously — it is not a matter of being born Jewish or Gentile.
  36. Acts 10:36Peter recalls that the message of peace through Jesus Christ had already been sent first to Israel, making clear that the Jews had historical priority, but not exclusivity.
  37. Acts 10:37Peter assumes that his Gentile listeners already knew something about the events that had taken place in Judea, beginning with John the Baptist’s preaching in Galilee.
  38. Acts 10:38Peter sums up Jesus’s ministry simply: anointed by God with power, He went about doing good and healing people oppressed by evil, proof that God was with Him.
  39. Acts 10:39Peter presents himself, along with the other apostles, as an eyewitness to all this, and mentions Jesus’s death “hanged on a tree,” an expression for crucifixion.
  40. Acts 10:40Peter affirms that God raised Jesus on the third day and made a point of letting this become publicly known.
  41. Acts 10:41The resurrection was not shown to everyone, only to witnesses chosen beforehand by God, who even ate and drank with Jesus after He rose.
  42. Acts 10:42The apostles were charged with preaching this to the people and testifying that Jesus was appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.
  43. Acts 10:43Peter concludes that all the Old Testament prophets already pointed to this same promise: whoever believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through His name.
  44. Acts 10:44The Holy Spirit falls on the Gentile listeners even before water baptism, unlike the pattern seen in other episodes. In the eyes of the Jews present, it is a sign that God had already accepted these Gentiles without requiring them to become Jews first.
  45. Acts 10:45The Jewish Christians accompanying Peter are astonished to see the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out on Gentiles too, something that broke their expectations.
  46. Acts 10:46The visible proof that the Gentiles had also received the Spirit is the same seen at Pentecost: they begin speaking in tongues and openly praising God.
  47. Acts 10:47Peter draws the logical conclusion on the spot: since God had given these Gentiles the Spirit, there would be no reason to deny them water baptism.
  48. Acts 10:48Peter orders them to be baptized in the name of the Lord, and the group even asks him to stay lodged with them for a few more days, extending the contact.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play