1. Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort.
2. He was a devout man, revering God with all his household. He gave tzadakah generously to the people and prayed to God continually.
3. About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4. He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel said to him, “Your prayers and tzadakah have gone up as a memorial offering before God.
5. Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, also named Peter.
6. He is being entertained as a guest by Simon the tanner, whose house is beside the sea.”
7. When the angel speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a soldier from among those attached to his command.
8. After he explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9. The next day, as the soldiers were traveling and approaching the city, Peter went up to the rooftop to pray, at about the sixth hour.
10. Now he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance.
11. He saw the heavens opened, and something like a great sheet coming down, lowered by its four corners to the earth.
12. In it were all sorts of four-footed animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
13. A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14. But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For never have I eaten anything unholy or unclean.”
15. Again a voice came to him, a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not consider unholy.”
16. This happened three times, and the sheet was immediately taken up to heaven.