< Acts 11 >

1 The apostles and [other] believers who lived in various towns in Judea [province] heard people say that [some] non-Jewish people had believed the message [from] God [about Jesus].
Ἤκουσαν δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οἱ ὄντες κατὰ τὴν Ἰουδαίαν ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἔθνη ἐδέξαντο τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
2 So when Peter [and the six other believers] returned [from Caesarea] to Jerusalem, [some] Jewish believers criticized Peter, [because they thought that Jews should not associate with non-Jews] [MTY].
Ὅτε δὲ ἀνέβη Πέτρος εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, διεκρίνοντο πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ ἐκ περιτομῆς
3 They said to him, “Not only was it wrong for you(sg) to visit non-Jewish people, you [even] ate with them!”
λέγοντες ὅτι Εἰσῆλθες πρὸς ἄνδρας ἀκροβυστίαν ἔχοντας καὶ συνέφαγες αὐτοῖς.
4 So Peter began to explain exactly [what had happened concerning Cornelius].
ἀρξάμενος δὲ Πέτρος ἐξετίθετο αὐτοῖς καθεξῆς λέγων
5 He said, “I was praying [by myself] in Joppa [town], and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw that something like a large sheet was being lowered from heaven. [It was tied with ropes] at its four corners, and it came down to where I was.
Ἐγὼ ἤμην ἐν πόλει Ἰόππῃ προσευχόμενος, καὶ εἶδον ἐν ἐκστάσει ὅραμα, καταβαῖνον σκεῦός τι ὡς ὀθόνην μεγάλην τέσσαρσιν ἀρχαῖς καθιεμένην ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἦλθεν ἄχρι ἐμοῦ·
6 As I was looking intently into it, I saw some tame animals [but also animals that our laws forbid us to eat, including] wild animals, snakes, and wild birds.
εἰς ἣν ἀτενίσας κατενόουν, καὶ εἶδον τὰ τετράποδα τῆς γῆς καὶ τὰ θηρία καὶ τὰ ἑρπετὰ καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ.
7 Then I heard God [MTY] commanding me, ‘Peter, get up, kill [some of these], and [cook and] eat [their meat]!’
ἤκουσα δὲ καὶ φωνῆς λεγούσης μοι Ἀναστάς, Πέτρε, θῦσον καὶ φάγε.
8 But I replied, ‘Lord, [you(sg)] surely do not [really want me to do that], because I have never eaten [MTY] meat [from any animal] that [our laws say] that we [(exc)] must not eat [SYN]!’
εἶπον δέ Μηδαμῶς, Κύριε, ὅτι κοινὸν ἢ ἀκάθαρτον οὐδέποτε εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου.
9 God spoke from heaven [to me] a second time, ‘[I am] God, [so] if I have made something acceptable [to eat], do not say that it is not acceptable [to eat]!’
ἀπεκρίθη δὲ ἐκ δευτέρου φωνὴ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ Ἃ ὁ Θεὸς ἐκαθάρισεν σὺ μὴ κοίνου.
10 Then [after that happened three times, the sheet with] all [those animals and birds] was pulled up into heaven again.”
τοῦτο δὲ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ τρίς, καὶ ἀνεσπάσθη πάλιν ἅπαντα εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν.
11 “At that exact moment, three men who had been {whom [Cornelius] had} sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where I was staying.
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐξαυτῆς τρεῖς ἄνδρες ἐπέστησαν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐν ᾗ ἦμεν, ἀπεσταλμένοι ἀπὸ Καισαρίας πρός με.
12 [God’s] Spirit told me that I should be willing to go with them [even though they were not Jews]. These six [Jewish] believers [from Joppa] went with me [to Caesarea], and then we [(exc)] went into that [non-Jewish] man’s house.
εἶπεν δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμά μοι συνελθεῖν αὐτοῖς μηδὲν διακρίναντα. ἦλθον δὲ σὺν ἐμοὶ καὶ οἱ ἓξ ἀδελφοὶ οὗτοι, καὶ εἰσήλθομεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀνδρός.
13 He told us that he had seen an angel standing in his house. The angel told him, ‘Tell some [men] to go to Joppa and bring back Simon whose other name is Peter.
ἀπήγγειλεν δὲ ἡμῖν πῶς εἶδεν τὸν ἄγγελον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ σταθέντα καὶ εἰπόντα· Ἀπόστειλον εἰς Ἰόππην καὶ μετάπεμψαι Σίμωνα τὸν ἐπικαλούμενον Πέτρον,
14 He will tell you [(sg)] how you and everyone [MTY] else in your house will be saved {how [God] will save you and everyone [MTY] else in your house}.’
ὃς λαλήσει ῥήματα πρὸς σὲ ἐν οἷς σωθήσῃ σὺ καὶ πᾶς ὁ οἶκός σου.
15 After I started to speak, the Holy Spirit [suddenly] came down on them, just like he had first [MTY] come on us [during the Pentecost festival].
ἐν δὲ τῷ ἄρξασθαί με λαλεῖν ἐπέπεσεν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ὥσπερ καὶ ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἐν ἀρχῇ.
16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John caused people to be baptized in water, but [God] will cause the Holy Spirit [to enter you and change your lives.’]
ἐμνήσθην δὲ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ Κυρίου, ὡς ἔλεγεν Ἰωάνης μὲν ἐβάπτισεν ὕδατι, ὑμεῖς δὲ βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ.
17 God gave those non-Jews the same Holy Spirit that he had given to us [(inc)] after we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, ([I] could not [possibly] tell God that he did wrong [when he gave them the Holy Spirit!]/how could I [tell] God that he did wrong [when he gave them the Holy Spirit]?) [RHQ] [He was showing that he had received them]!”
εἰ οὖν τὴν ἴσην δωρεὰν ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεὸς ὡς καὶ ἡμῖν, πιστεύσασιν ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, ἐγὼ τίς ἤμην δυνατὸς κωλῦσαι τὸν Θεόν;
18 After [those Jewish believers] heard what Peter said, they stopped criticizing [him. Instead], they praised God, saying, “Then it is [clear to us that] God has also accepted the non-Jews so that they will have eternal life, if they turn from their sinful behavior [and believe in Jesus]!”
ἀκούσαντες δὲ ταῦτα ἡσύχασαν, καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν Θεὸν λέγοντες Ἄρα καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὁ Θεὸς τὴν μετάνοιαν εἰς ζωὴν ἔδωκεν.
19 After [people had killed] Stephen, many of the believers left [Jerusalem and went] to other places, because people were causing them to suffer [there in Jerusalem. Some of] them went to Phoenicia [region], some went to Cyprus [Island], and others went to Antioch [city in Syria province. In those places] they were continually telling people the message [about Jesus], but they told only other Jewish people.
Οἱ μὲν οὖν διασπαρέντες ἀπὸ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς γενομένης ἐπὶ Στεφάνῳ διῆλθον ἕως Φοινίκης καὶ Κύπρου καὶ Ἀντιοχείας, μηδενὶ λαλοῦντες τὸν λόγον εἰ μὴ μόνον Ἰουδαίοις.
20 Some of the believers were men from Cyprus and from Cyrene [city in north Africa]. They went to Antioch, and [although they told other Jews about] the Lord Jesus, they also told non-Jewish people [there].
Ἦσαν δέ τινες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἄνδρες Κύπριοι καὶ Κυρηναῖοι, οἵτινες ἐλθόντες εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν ἐλάλουν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας, εὐαγγελιζόμενοι τὸν Κύριον Ἰησοῦν.
21 The Lord [God] [MTY] was powerfully enabling those [believers to preach effectively. As a result], very many [non-Jewish] people believed [their message and] trusted in the Lord [Jesus].
καὶ ἦν χεὶρ Κυρίου μετ’ αὐτῶν, πολύς τε ἀριθμὸς ὁ πιστεύσας ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον.
22 The group of believers in Jerusalem heard [MTY] [people say that many people in Antioch were believing in Jesus. So] the [leaders] of the congregation in [Jerusalem] asked Barnabas to go to Antioch.
Ἠκούσθη δὲ ὁ λόγος εἰς τὰ ὦτα τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῆς οὔσης ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ περὶ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐξαπέστειλαν Βαρνάβαν ἕως Ἀντιοχείας·
23 When he got [there], he realized that God had acted kindly toward [the believers. So] he was very happy, and he continually encouraged all of the [believers] to continue to trust completely in the Lord [Jesus].
ὃς παραγενόμενος καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν χάριν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐχάρη, καὶ παρεκάλει πάντας τῇ προθέσει τῆς καρδίας προσμένειν τῷ Κυρίῳ,
24 Barnabas was a good man [whom] the Holy Spirit completely controlled, one who trusted [God] completely. [Because of what Barnabas did], many people [there] believed in the Lord [Jesus].
ὅτι ἦν ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ πλήρης Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ πίστεως. καὶ προσετέθη ὄχλος ἱκανὸς τῷ Κυρίῳ.
25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus [in Cilicia province to try] to find Saul.
ἐξῆλθεν δὲ εἰς Ταρσὸν ἀναζητῆσαι Σαῦλον,
26 After he found him, Barnabas brought him [back to] Antioch [to help teach the believers. So during] a whole year [Barnabas and Saul] met [regularly] with the congregation [there] and taught many of them [about Jesus. It was] at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians {[that people] first called the believers Christians}.
καὶ εὑρὼν ἤγαγεν εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν. ἐγένετο δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐνιαυτὸν ὅλον συναχθῆναι ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ διδάξαι ὄχλον ἱκανόν, χρηματίσαι τε πρώτως ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ τοὺς μαθητὰς Χριστιανούς.
27 During the time [that Barnabas and Saul were] at Antioch, some [believers who were] prophets arrived there from Jerusalem.
Ἐν ταύταις δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις κατῆλθον ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων προφῆται εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν·
28 One of them, whose name was Agabus, stood up [in order to speak]. [God’s] Spirit enabled him to prophesy (that there would soon be a famine in many countries/that [people] in many countries [HYP] would soon [suffer because they] would not have enough [food] to eat). (That famine happened when Claudius was the [Roman Emperor].)
ἀναστὰς δὲ εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν ὀνόματι Ἅγαβος ἐσήμαινεν διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος λιμὸν μεγάλην μέλλειν ἔσεσθαι ἐφ’ ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην· ἥτις ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου.
29 When the believers [there heard what Agabus said], they decided that they would send [money] to help the believers who lived in Judea. Each [of them decided to give as much money] as he was able [to give].
τῶν δὲ μαθητῶν καθὼς εὐπορεῖτό τις, ὥρισαν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν εἰς διακονίαν πέμψαι τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν ἐν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἀδελφοῖς·
30 They sent [the money] with Barnabas and Saul to the leaders of the congregation [in Jerusalem].
ὃ καὶ ἐποίησαν ἀποστείλαντες πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους διὰ χειρὸς Βαρνάβα καὶ Σαύλου.

< Acts 11 >