Cornelius

¹ At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment.

² He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.

³ One day at about the ninth hour, he had a clear vision of an angel of God who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among his attendants.

While Peter was puzzling over the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and approached the gate.

²¹ So Peter went down to the men and said, “Here am I, the one you are looking for. Why have you come?”

²² “Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”

²³ So Peter invited them in as his guests. And the next day he got ready and went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

²⁴ The following day he arrived in Caesarea, where Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

²⁵ As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.

³⁰ Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me

³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been remembered before God.