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He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth,
Acts 10:11 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
  • BSB He saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
  • ESV and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.
  • NKJV and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth.
  • NASB and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground,
  • NLT He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Peter saw heaven open and a great sheet lowered to earth. God presents a vision that will redefine boundaries.

Overview

The opened heaven signals a fresh revelation from God. The descending sheet filled with creatures sets up the command that follows. This vivid imagery prepares Peter to grasp that God is doing something new in extending the gospel.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • Eph 3:6that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,
  • John 1:51He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
  • Rom 16:25–26
  • Matt 8:11I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,
  • Rev 4:1After these things I looked and saw a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, like a trumpet speaking with me, was one saying, “Come up here, and I will show you the things which must happen after this.”
  • Rev 11:19God’s temple that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant was seen in his temple. Lightnings, sounds, thunders, an earthquake, and great hail followed.
  • Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
  • Gal 2:15“We, being Jews by nature, and not Gentile sinners,
  • Rev 19:11I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes war.
  • Isa 19:23–25In that day there will be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians.
  • Isa 56:8The Lord Yahweh, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, “I will yet gather others to him, besides his own who are gathered.”
  • Gal 3:28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • Ezek 1:1Now in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
  • Matt 13:47–48“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind,
  • Isa 43:6I will tell the north, ‘Give them up!’ and tell the south, ‘Don’t hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth —
  • Col 3:11where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
  • Isa 11:6–14The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat; The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf together; and a little child will lead them.
  • Acts 7:56and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
  • John 11:52and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
  • John 12:32And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
  • Rom 1:16For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
  • Rom 3:29–31Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also,
  • Rom 9:4who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;
  • Eph 1:10to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
  • Rom 15:9–12and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore will I give praise to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”
  • Luke 3:21Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 10:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 10:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.