Acts 10:4-26

⁴Cornelius looked at the angel and was afraid of him. He asked him, “What do you want, boss?” The angel said, “Cornelius, God heard you praying and saw you give money and things to the poor people. It is like you gave those things and money to God, so God is thinking about you.

⁵So send some men to Joppa to find a man called Simon Peter.

⁶He is staying with a leather worker called Simon. His house is near the sea. Tell your men to get Peter and bring him back to you.”

⁷The angel finished talking with Cornelius and went away. Then Cornelius called 2 of the men that worked in his house, and one of the soldiers that looked after him. That soldier respected God too.

⁸Cornelius told them everything that happened and then he told them to go to Joppa and get Peter.

⁹The next day, about the middle of the day, those men were walking along and getting near to Joppa. At that same time Peter went up on to the flat roof of the house to pray.

¹⁰He started feeling hungry and he wanted something to eat, but he waited and prayed while the people in the house were getting some food ready. Then Peter had like a dream, but he was still awake.

¹¹He saw the sky open up, then he saw something like a big sheet. Somebody was holding on to the 4 corners of that sheet, and there was something in the middle of it. It was coming down from the sky to the ground. There were all kinds of animals in it, and lizards, and snakes, and birds. (Their Jewish law said, “Don’t eat those kinds of animals, they are no good.”)

¹³Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter. Kill some of those animals and eat them.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “No, boss. I can’t do that. Our Jewish law says we can’t eat that kind of animal. They are no good, so I never eat any of them.”

¹⁵Then the voice said to Peter, “If God says that something is good, don’t say it is no good.”

¹⁶That happened 3 times. Each time that voice told Peter to eat one of those animals, and each time Peter said, “No,” and each time the voice said, “If God says that something is good, don’t say it is no good.” Then that sheet went back up into the sky.

¹⁷Peter sat there and thought, “What does this mean? What is God telling me?” While Peter was still trying to understand it, those 3 men from Cornelius walked into that town, Joppa. They asked people, “Where does Simon live, the leather worker man?” Then they stood outside at the gate of that house

¹⁸and asked, “Is Simon Peter here?”

¹⁹At that same time, Peter was thinking about what he just saw, and the Holy Spirit said to him, “Listen, 3 men are down at the gate. They are looking for you.

²⁰So get up and go down to them. You see, I sent them to you, so just go with them. Don’t worry.”

²¹Peter went down and said to the men, “Hey, I’m the man you are looking for. Why did you come here?”

²²They said, “Cornelius sent us. He is a boss in the Roman army. He is a good man and he respects God. All the Jews say he is a good man too. God sent one of his angel messengers to Cornelius and told him to ask you to come to his house and talk to him.”

²³So Peter asked them to come in and stay there that night. The next morning Peter got up and went with those men. Some of the Joppa Christians went with him too. They had to camp one night along the road.

²⁴The next day Cornelius called all his relatives and close friends to come to his house in Caesarea, and about 3 o’clock that day Peter and his mob came and found them waiting there.

²⁵Peter started to go into the house, and Cornelius met him and got down on to his knees in front of Peter, to show him respect.

²⁶But Peter lifted him up and said, “Stand up. I’m only a man, like you.”