29He spoke to the Greek-speaking tribal leaders arguing with them, but it just made them look for a way to kill him. 30When the members of the sacred family heard about this, they took him away to Chief Village (Caesarea) and from there sent him to Tree Village (Tarsus).
31Finally, the sacred family in the territory of the Land of Promise (Judea), Circle of Nations (Galilee), and High Place (Samaria) were at peace and growing strong. As they walked in a sacred manner with great respect for Creator, the Holy Spirit comforted them and made their numbers grow.
A POWERFUL HEALING
32Stands on the Rock (Peter) was walking the road from place to place. On his journey he came upon some of Creator’s holy ones who lived in the village of Almond Tree (Lydda). 33There he found a man named Man of Honor (Aeneas), who could not move his body and had been unable to leave his bed for eight winters.
34“Man of Honor (Aeneas),” Stands on the Rock (Peter) said to him, “Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One heals you! Stand up and fold up your bed blankets.”
The man stood right up, 35and all who lived in Almond Tree (Lydda) and those who lived in Flatland (Sharon) saw him and turned their hearts to Creator’s Honored One.
A RESPECTED WOMAN CROSSES OVER
36Now in the nearby Village of Beauty (Joppa) there lived a follower of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) whose name was Deer Woman (Tabitha), which is translated into our tribal language as Deer Eyes (Dorcas). She was a doer of many good deeds and always gave to the ones who had little. 37During the time that Stands on the Rock (Peter) was in Almond Tree (Lydda), she became ill and crossed over to death. So they ceremonially washed her body and laid her in an upstairs room.
38Since Almond Tree (Lydda) is near to Village of Beauty (Joppa), the followers there sent two men to Stands on the Rock (Peter), begging him to come right away.
39Stands on the Rock (Peter) got right up and went with the men. When they arrived, they took him to where her body lay in the upstairs room. The widows came and stood next to him. The tears rolled down their faces as they showed him the beautiful garments Deer Eyes (Dorcas) had made when she was with them.
POWER OVER DEATH
40Stands on the Rock (Peter) sent them all outside. He then fell to his knees and sent his voice to the Great Spirit. After he prayed, he turned toward the dead body of the woman.
“Deer Woman (Tabitha),” he said to her, “get up!”
She opened her eyes, and when she saw Stands on the Rock (Peter), she sat up. 41He reached out his hand to her and helped her up. He then called all the holy ones and the widows and stood her before them. She was alive! 42Word of this spread throughout all of Village of Beauty (Joppa), and many put their trust in our Honored Chief, Creator Sets Free (Jesus).
43Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) stayed a good number of days in Village of Beauty (Joppa) in the home of Hearing Man (Simon), a tanner of leather.
A POWERFUL VISION
1Now there lived a man in Chief Village (Caesarea) whose name was Little Horn (Cornelius). He was a head soldier in the Young Bulls (Italian) band of the People of Iron (Romans). 2He was a spiritual man who had deep respect for the Great Spirit. He, along with all his family, gave with a big heart to the poor and prayed to Creator at all times.
3One day, in the middle of the after-noon, he had a sacred vision. He could clearly see a spirit-messenger from Creator coming toward him.
“Little Horn (Cornelius)!” the messenger said to him.
4Little Horn (Cornelius) could only stare at the spirit-messenger and tremble with fear.
“What is it you want, Honored One?” he asked the messenger.
“Your prayers and gifts of kindness have been remembered. They have risen like sweet-smelling smoke to the Great Spirit. 5Now you must send messengers to Village of Beauty (Joppa) to find One Who Hears (Simon), who is also named Stands on the Rock (Peter) and ask him to come to your home. 6He is lodging at a house near the great waters at the home of Hearing Man (Simon), the tanner of hides.”
7After the spirit-messenger who spoke to him had left, Little Horn (Cornelius) called two servants and a trusted soldier from the ones who were under his command. 8After he told them everything they needed to know, he sent them to Village of Beauty (Joppa).
ANOTHER SACRED VISION
9On the next day, as the messengers were traveling and coming close to the village, Stands on the Rock (Peter) climbed up onto the flat roof of the house to send his voice to Creator. It was about midday. 10He became hungry and wanted something to eat. As they were cooking the food, he fell into a trance and had a sacred vision.
11He saw an opening in the sky and something like a large, soft blanket that was being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12On the blanket were all kinds of four-legged animals, creeping things from the ground, and winged ones who soar in the sky.
13“Stands on the Rock (Peter), rise up!” a voice said to him. “Kill and eat.”
This would have been a hard thing for Stands on the Rock (Peter) to hear, because their tribal law forbade them to ceremonially offer or eat any unclean animal, and many of these animals were unclean or impure.
14“I cannot, O Honored One!” he answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15Then the Voice spoke to him a second time, “What the Great Spirit has made clean, you must not consider impure.”
16This was repeated three times, and then the blanket was taken right back up into the spirit-world above.
THE MESSENGERS FROM LITTLE HORN ARRIVE
17Stands on the Rock (Peter) was troubled, trying to understand the meaning of the vision. At the same time the men who were sent by Little Horn (Cornelius) stood at the gate 18and called out to see whether Stands on the Rock (Peter) was lodging there.
19While Stands on the Rock (Peter) was meditating on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look, three men are searching for you. 20Now rise up, go down into the house, and do not hesitate to go with these men, because I have sent them.”
21So Stands on the Rock (Peter) went down from the rooftop to where the men were and said to them, “I am the one you are looking for. What is it you want from me?”
22“Little Horn (Cornelius), who is a head soldier of the People of Iron (Romans), sent us. He is a man with a good heart who has deep respect for the Great Spirit and is well spoken of by all in your tribal nation. He was instructed by a sacred spirit-messenger to send messengers to you, to ask you to come to his house so he can hear your words.”
HE GOES WITH THE MESSENGERS
23Stands on the Rock (Peter) then welcomed them into the house and gave them lodging for the night. The next day he awoke and set out with them, and some of his spiritual brothers from Village of Beauty (Joppa) also went along.
24On the following day they came to Chief Village (Caesarea). Little Horn (Cornelius), who was waiting for them to come, had gathered together many relatives and close friends.
IN THE HOUSE OF OUTSIDERS
25As soon as Stands on the Rock (Peter) came into the house, Little Horn (Cornelius) dropped to his knees and began to pray to him.31 26But Stands on the Rock (Peter) made him stand to his feet.
“Stand up!” he said to him, “I am only a weak human being, just as you are.”
27Stands on the Rock (Peter) kept talking to him as they went inside the house. There he saw all the people who had gathered to hear him.
This was the first time Stands on the Rock (Peter) had ever been in the home of someone from another nation. These people were considered to be outsiders and unholy. This was new territory that he was walking into, so he took a deep breath and began to speak to them.
28“As all of you must know,” he said to them, “it is against our law for a Tribal Member like myself to have anything to do with someone from an Outside Nation. But Creator has helped me to see that I should not consider anyone to be impure or unclean. 29So when I was asked to come here, I did not hesitate to come. So tell me, why have you sent for me?”
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LITTLE HORN TELLS HIS STORY
30Little Horn (Cornelius) spoke up and said to him, “It has now been four days to this very hour. In the middle of the afternoon, while I was praying, I looked up and saw a man standing before me, and his garments were shining bright.
31“‘Little Horn (Cornelius),’ he said to me, ‘your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have risen like sweet-smelling smoke before the Great Spirit. He has remembered what you have done. 32Send messengers to Village of Beauty (Joppa) to One Who Hears (Simon), who is also named Stands on the Rock (Peter), and ask him to come. He is lodging at the house of Hearing Man (Simon), a tanner of hides, who lives near the great waters.’
33“I sent for you right away, and I thank you for coming. So we have all gathered here, in the sight of the Great Spirit, to hear what Creator has instructed you to tell us.”
STANDS ON THE ROCK SPEAKS TO ALL
34Stands on the Rock (Peter) took another deep breath, opened his mouth, and began.
“I speak from my heart,” he said to them. “I now see that Creator does not favor one human being over another. 35He accepts people of all nations who have a deep respect for him and do what is right.
36“This is the message he has given to the tribes of Wrestles with Creator (Israel), a message of peace that comes through Creator Sets Free (Jesus) the Chosen One. He is the one who has been honored above all others!
37“You must have heard about it. It all began with the purification ceremony32 announced by He Shows Goodwill (John) in Circle of Nations (Galilee). From there his message has spread like wildfire throughout the Land of Promise (Judea).
38“It is the story of how the Great Spirit chose Creator Sets Free (Jesus) from Seed Planter Village (Nazareth), and how the power of Holy Spirit came to rest upon him. How he walked the land, with Creator at his side, doing good and healing all who were pushed down and crushed by the evil trickster.
39“We are his message bearers, telling the truth about all that he did in the territory of our Tribal Members and in Village of Peace (Jerusalem), where they had him killed by hanging him on a tree. 40He is the one whom Creator, on the third day, brought back to life from the world of the dead. He then appeared, 41not to everyone, but to us, the ones he chose ahead of time to tell the truth about what we saw, we who ate and drank with him after he returned to life from the dead.
42“He has instructed us to tell this story in a sacred manner, so that all people will know that Creator Sets Free (Jesus) has been chosen by the Great Spirit to decide the fate of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets from long ago have spoken of him, that all who put their trust in him will be released from their bad hearts and broken ways through his name.”
THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES DOWN
44While Stands on the Rock (Peter) was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down upon all who were listening to his words. 45-46They began to speak in new languages and give praise and honor to the Great Spirit. This amazed the Tribal Members who came with Stands on the Rock (Peter), for they could hear and see with their own eyes that even on people from Outside Nations, the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out.
Then Stands on the Rock (Peter) said to all, 47“Who can now refuse water for these people to participate in the purification ceremony?a For they have received the Holy Spirit in the same manner that we did.”
48So he instructed them to participate in the purification ceremonya in the name of the Chosen One Creator Sets Free (Jesus) and all he represents, welcoming them into the sacred family.
After that they asked Stands on the Rock (Peter) to remain with them for a number of days.
STANDS ON THE ROCK IS QUESTIONED
1Back in the Land of Promise (Judea), the message bearers and other followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) heard that people from the Outside Nations had welcomed Creator’s message. 2So when Stands on the Rock (Peter) returned to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), the strict Tribal Members there began to question him.
3“How is it that you went into the house of Outsiders and ate with them?” they asked.
STANDS ON THE ROCK RETELLS HIS STORY
4So he told them, step by step, the journey he had been on.
5“In the Village of Beauty (Joppa), where I was lodging, I was sending my voice to the Great Spirit. I went into a trance and was given a sacred vision. I saw something that looked like a large, soft blanket coming down from the sky, being lowered by its four corners. As it came near to me, 6I looked into it wondering what it was. I saw four-legged animals of the land, wild animals, snakes, creeping things, and winged ones who soar in the sky.
7“Then I heard a Voice say, ‘Stands on the Rock (Peter), kill and eat.’
8“‘I cannot! O Honored One,’ I answered, ‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.’
9“Then the Voice from the spirit-world above spoke to me a second time, ‘If Creator has made it clean, then you must not consider it impure.’
10“This happened three times. Then the blanket was taken back up into the spirit-world above. 11Right then three men who had been sent to me from Chief Village (Caesarea) arrived at the house where we were lodging. 12The Spirit told me to have no doubts about going with them. So I and six spiritual brothers went to the man’s house and were welcomed inside.
13“The man of the house told us how he had seen a spirit-messenger standing in his house. The messenger told him to send a message to Village of Beauty (Joppa) to One Who Hears (Simon), who is also named Stands on the Rock (Peter), 14who will tell you and all your family and friends how to be set free and made whole.
15“Just as I was beginning to speak to them, the Holy Spirit came down upon them in the same manner he did for us at first. 16Then I remembered what our Wisdomkeeper had said to us: ‘He Shows Goodwill (John) performed the purification ceremony33 with water, but you will participate in the purification ceremonya with the Holy Spirit.’
17“If Creator gave them the same gift he gave to us when we put our trust in our Honored Chief Creator Sets Free (Jesus), the Chosen One, who was I to stand in the way of the Great Spirit?”
18When they heard these words, they sat there in silence with nothing to say. Then they gave honor to Creator.
“So then,” they said with wondering voices, “the Great Spirit has also given the Outside Nations the way to return to the path of life.”
TELLING THE GOOD STORY
19The ones who had been scattered because of the persecution that began when Many Feathers (Stephen) was killed had made their way as far as Land of Palm Trees (Phoenicia), Island of Flowers (Cyprus), and Stands Against (Antioch). They were telling the good story, but only to the Tribal Members, not to anyone from the Outside Nations.
20But there were others, men from Island of Flowers (Cyprus) and Land of Power (Cyrene), who came to Stands Against (Antioch) and began to tell the Wisdom Seekers (Greeks) from Outside Nations about Creator Sets Free (Jesus), our Honored Chief. 21The strong hand of the Great Spirit was with them, and a large number of them trusted in our Honored Chief.
22Word of this came to the ears of the sacred family in Village of Peace (Jerusalem). 23-24So they sent to them Son of Comfort (Barnabas), a good-hearted man who was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. When he saw Creator’s great kindness at work in them, it made his heart glad. He then spoke wise counsel to them, telling them to have brave hearts and to stand strong, looking to our Honored Chief.
There were so many new followers there that Son of Comfort (Barnabas) knew he needed more help.
25So he went to Tree Village (Tarsus) to look for Man Who Questions (Saul). 26When he found him, he took him back to Stands Against (Antioch). For a whole year they gathered there, together with the sacred family. There they taught a large number of people. It was in the village of Stands Against (Antioch) that the followers of Creator Sets Free (Jesus) were first called Followers of the Chosen One.
27It was in those days that some prophets came down from Village of Peace
(Jerusalem) to the village of Stands Against (Antioch). 28One of them, named Grasshopper (Agabus), foretold by the Spirit that soon there would be a shortage of food all over the territory of the People of Iron (Romans). This happened during the rule of Walks with a Limp (Claudius).
29So the followers who lived in Stands Against (Antioch) decided to send help to the sacred family in the Land of Promise (Judea)—as much as they could spare. 30Son of Comfort (Barnabas) and Man Who Questions (Saul) hand-carried the gifts to the elders.
MORE PERSECUTION
1During those days, Looks Brave (Herod)34 used his power as chief to bring harm to the sacred family. 2He had He Takes Over (James) the brother of He Shows Goodwill (John) killed with the long knife. 3When he found out that this pleased the corrupt tribal leaders, he decided to take Stands on the Rock (Peter) captive also—during the Festival of Bread Without Yeast. 4After capturing him, he put him in prison and assigned sixteen soldiers to guard him—four at a time. Looks Brave (Herod) planned to bring him before the people during the Passover festival.
RESCUED BY A SPIRIT-MESSENGER
5But while Stands on the Rock (Peter) was in prison, the sacred family prayed for him with strong hearts as they sent their voices to the Great Spirit.
6On the night before Looks Brave (Herod) was planning to bring him before the people, Stands on the Rock (Peter) was sound asleep between two soldiers who were guarding him. He was bound with two chains, and more guards were guarding the prison gate.
First Nations Version Page 41
