Acts 10:1-16 ▼

1 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.

2 He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.

3 One day, about three in the afternoon, he had a vision and clearly saw an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, |Cornelius!|

4 He stared at the angel in terror and asked, |What is it, Lord?| The angel answered him, |Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder to God.

5 Send men now to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter.

6 He is a guest of Simon, a leatherworker, whose house is by the sea.|

7 When the angel who had spoken to him had gone, Cornelius summoned two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of those who served him regularly.

8 He explained everything to them and sent them to Joppa.

9 Around noon the next day, while they were on their way and coming close to the town, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

10 He became very hungry and wanted to eat, and while the food was being prepared, he fell into a trance

11 and saw heaven open and something like a large linen sheet coming down, being lowered by its four corners to the ground.

12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air.

13 Then a voice told him, |Get up, Peter! Kill something and eat it.|

14 But Peter said, |Absolutely not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean!|

15 Again the voice came to him a second time, |You must stop calling unclean what God has made clean.|

16 This happened three times. Then the sheet was quickly taken back into heaven.