Bible Strands
Acts 11:5
“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter addresses Jewish believers in Jerusalem, explaining how he received divine instruction while stationed in Joppa. He describes the precise moment he stood praying when a supernatural vision interrupted his routine.
The words — The Greek προσευχόμενος (proseuchomenos) literally means “praying,” denoting continuous action, while εἶδον (eidon) simply states “I saw,” marking the sudden appearance of the vision. These terms anchor the event in Peter’s conscious participation rather than passive reception.
The thread — This vision of a descending object parallels other prophetic encounters where God uses tangible items to convey message, as recorded in Amos 8:2 and Jeremiah 1:11. Peter’s prior location on the roof in Acts 10:9 establishes the geographic and narrative continuity of this revelation.
Why it lands — The text requires acknowledgment that divine direction frequently crosses established religious boundaries. It asks the reader to suspend personal assumptions and evaluate new instructions before accepting them.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me:
Cross-references
- Acts 10:9 The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.
- Amos 8:2 “Amos, what do you see?” He asked. “A basket of summer fruit,” I replied. So the LORD said to me, “The end has come for My people Israel; I will no longer spare them.”
- Jeremiah 1:11 And the word of the LORD came to me, asking, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” “I see a branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
- Ezekiel 2:9 Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll,
- Amos 7:4 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
- Acts 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered.
- Acts 11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision of something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came right down to me.
- Acts 22:17 Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
- 2 Corinthians 12:1 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to gain, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.