Acts 11:9
What does Acts 11:9 mean?
A plain-English look at Acts 11:9 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Acts 11:9 means
In response to Peter's protest, the heavenly voice powerfully declared, "What God hath cleansed, make not thou common." This statement is the theological crux of the vision. It asserts God's sovereign right to redefine purity, overturning centuries of Jewish legal distinctions regarding food and, by extension, people. This profound declaration indicated that God was doing a new thing, breaking down barriers and declaring a new standard of acceptance, preparing Peter to embrace all people whom God had cleansed.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.
KJV
King James Version · 1611But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901But a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949But the voice, coming a second time from heaven, said, What God has made clean, do not you make common.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862and a voice did answer me a second time out of the heaven, What God did cleanse, thou--declare not thou common.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And the voice answered again from heaven: What God hath made clean, do not thou call common.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And a voice answered the second time out of heaven, WhatGod has cleansed, do not thou make common.
Context
This verse delivers the central theological message of Peter's vision, directly refuting his reluctance to eat the animals. This divine declaration fundamentally redefines the concepts of clean and unclean, not just for food but for people. It is the key interpretive phrase that allows Peter, and subsequently the Jerusalem church, to understand God's intention to include Gentiles within the scope of salvation, which he recounts up through verse 10.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Acts 10:15
And a voice came unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.
- 1 Timothy 4:5
for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.
- Acts 10:28
and he said unto them, Ye yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to join himself or come unto one of another nation; and yet unto me hath God showed that I should not call any man common or unclean:
- Hebrews 9:13
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling them that have been defiled, sanctify unto the cleanness of the flesh:
- Acts 10:34
And Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
- Acts 15:9
and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
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