< Acts 10 >
1 And there was a certain man in Caesarea, whose name was Cornelius, a centurion of the regiment called the Italian.
2 And he was righteous, and feared God, he and all his house; and he did much alms among the people, and prayed to God at all times.
3 This man distinctly saw, in a vision, about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God, who came in to him and said to him: Cornelius!
4 And he looked upon him, and was afraid; and he said: What, my Lord? And the angel said to him: Thy prayers and thy alms have come up in remembrance before God.
5 And now, send men to the city of Joppa, and bring Simon who is called Cephas.
6 Lo, he lodgeth in the house of Simon the tanner, which is by the side of the sea.
7 And when the angel that talked with him was gone, he called two of his household, and a soldier who feared God and was obedient to him.
8 And he related to them all that he had seen, and sent them to Joppa.
9 And the next day, as they travelled the road and approached the city, Simon ascended the roof to pray, at the sixth hour.
10 And he became hungry, and desired to eat. And while they were providing for him, he fell into a trance.
11 And he saw the heavens opened, and a certain vessel fastened at the four corners, and it was like a great sheet; and it descended from heaven to the a earth.
12 And there were in it all fourfooted animals, and creeping things of the earth, and fowls of heaven.
13 And a voice came to him, which said: Simon, arise, slay and eat.
14 And Simon said: Far be it, my Lord: for never have I eaten any thing unclean and polluted.
15 And again the second time, there was a voice to him: What God hath cleansed, make thou not unclean.
16 And this was done three times; and the vessel was taken up to heaven.
17 And while Simon was wondering with himself, what the vision he had seen could denote, the men who were sent by Cornelius arrived; and they inquired for the house in which Simon lodged, and came and stood at the gate of the court.
18 And there they called out, and asked if Simon who is called Cephas lodged there?
19 And while Simon was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him: Lo, three men are inquiring for thee.
20 Arise, go down, and accompany them; and let not thy mind hesitate, for I have sent them.
21 Then Simon went down to the men, and said to them: I am he for whom ye inquire: what is the cause for which ye have come?
22 They say to him: A certain man whose name is Cornelius, a centurion fearing God, and of whom all the people of the Jews bear good report, was told in vision, by a holy angel, to send and bring thee to his house, that he might hear discourse from thee.
23 And Simon led them in, and entertained them where he lodged. And the following day, he arose, departed, and went with them: and some of the brethren of Joppa also went with them.
24 And the next day, they entered Caesarea. And Cornelius was expecting them: and all the kindred of his family, and also such intimate friends as he had, were assembled with him.
25 And as Simon came up, Cornelius met him, and fell down worshipping at his feet.
26 And Simon raised him up, and said to him: Arise; I also am a man.
27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found that many had come there.
28 And he said to them: Ye know, that it is not lawful for a Jewish man, to associate with an alien who is not of his race: but God hath showed me, that I should not say of any one, that he is defiled or unclean.
29 Therefore I came readily, when ye sent for me. But, I ask you, for what cause did ye send for me?
30 And Cornelius said to him: It is four days ago, that, lo, I was fasting; and at the ninth hour, while I was praying in my house, a certain man stood before me, clothed in white,
31 and said to me: Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and there remembrance of thy alms before God.
32 But send to the city of Joppa, and bring Simon who is called Cephas: lo, he lodgeth in the house of Simon the tanner, which is by the side of the sea. And he will come and converse with thee.
33 And immediately I sent to thee; and thou hast done well to come: and lo, we are all of us before thee, and desirous to hear whatever is commanded thee from God.
34 And Simon opened his mouth, and said: Truly I discover that God is no respecter of persons.
35 but, among all the nations, he who feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable with him.
36 For this is the word, which he sent to the sons of Israel, announcing to them peace and rest by Jesus Messiah, He is Lord of all;
37 and ye also know the word, which was in all Judaea, which commenced from Galilee, after the baptism that John preached,
38 concerning Jesus, who was of Nazareth, whom God anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. And he it was, who went about and healed those that were suffering from evil, because God was with him.
39 And we are his witnesses, as to whatever he did in all the region of Judaea and in Jerusalem. This same person the Jews hanged on a tree, and slew him.
40 And him did God raise up, on the third day; and caused him to be seen with naked eyes;
41 not indeed by all the people, but by us, who were chosen of God to be his witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after his resurrection from the dead.
42 And he commanded us to proclaim and testify to the people, that he is appointed of God to be judge of the living and of the dead.
43 And of him all the prophets testify, that whoever believeth in his name, will receive remission of sins.
44 And while Simon was uttering these things, the Holy Spirit overshadowed all them that were hearing the word.
45 And the circumcised brethren who came with him, were amazed and astonished, that the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Gentiles also.
46 For they heard them speak with diverse tongues, and magnify God.
47 And Simon said: Can any one forbid water, that those should not be baptized, they who have received, lo, the Holy Spirit, as well as we?
48 Then he commanded them to be baptized in the name of our Lord Jesus Messiah. And they requested him to remain with them some days.
