Study Desk

And in the synagogues immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, "He is the Son of God."

a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms liberally to the people, and prayed constantly to God.

About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius."

And he stared at him in terror, and said, "What is it, Lord?" And he said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

And the voice came to him again a second time, "What God has cleansed, you must not call common."

And they said, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house, and to hear what you have to say."

and he said to them, "You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit any one of another nation; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

saying, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

So I sent to you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God, to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord."

And Peter opened his mouth and said: "Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality,

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest;

not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.

And he commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead.

For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared,

Now the apostles and the brethren who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.

But the voice answered a second time from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'

If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?"

When they heard this they were silenced. And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life."

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad; and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose;