Acts 10 · Verse 11

Acts 10:11

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:
Acts 10:11, King James Version

Acts 10:11 in other translations

BSBHe saw heaven open and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.
WEBHe saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth,
ASVand he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by four corners upon the earth:
YLTand he doth behold the heaven opened, and descending unto him a certain vessel, as a great sheet, bound at the four corners, and let down upon the earth,
DARBYand he beholds the heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending, as a great sheet, bound by the four corners and let down to the earth;
BBEAnd he saw the heavens opening, and a vessel coming down, like a great cloth let down on the earth,
WebsterAnd saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending to him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

What does Acts 10:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Acts 10:9-16

9-16. upon the housetop--the flat roof, the chosen place in the East for cool retirement. the sixth hour--noon.

Read the full comment on Acts 10:9-16 →

Barnes' Notes
Verse 11. And saw heaven opened. Acts 7:56; Mt 3:16. This language is derived from a common mode of speaking in the Hebrew Scriptures, as if the sky above us was a solid, vast expanse, and [as] if it were opened to present an opportunity for anything to descend. It is language that is highly figurative.

And a certain vessel. Acts 9:15.

As it had been. It is important to mark this expression. The sacred writer does not say that Peter literally saw such all object descending; but he uses this as an imperfect description of the vision. It was not a literal descent of a vessel, but it was such a kind of representation to him, producing the same impression, and the same effect, as if such a vessel had descended.

Knit at the four corners. Bound, united, or tied. The corners were collected, as would be natural in putting anything into a great sheet.

(a) "saw heaven" Acts 7:56 (*) "vessel" "and something" (+) "knit" "bound together"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 11 And saw heaven opened - His mind now entirely spiritualized, and absorbed in heavenly contemplation, was capable of discoveries of the spiritual world; a world which, with its πληρωμα, or plenitude of inhabitants, surrounds us at all times; but which we are incapable of seeing through the dense medium of flesh and blood, and their necessarily concomitant earthly passions. Much, however, of such a world and its economy may be apprehended by him who is purified from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and who has perfected holiness in the fear of God. But this is a subject to which the enthusiast in vain attempts to ascend. The turbulent working of his imagination, and the gross earthly crudities which he wishes to obtrude on the world as revelations from God, afford a sufficient refutation of their own blasphemous pretensions. A great sheet, knit at the four corners - Perhaps intended to be an emblem of the universe, and its various nations, to the four corners of which the Gospel was to extend, and to offer its blessings to all the inhabitants, without distinction of nation, etc.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Acts 10:9-18

The prejudices of Peter against the Gentiles, would have prevented his going to Cornelius, unless the Lord had prepared him for this service. To tell a Jew that God had directed those animals to be reckoned clean which were hitherto deemed unclean, was in effect saying, that the law of Moses was done away. Peter was soon made to know the meaning of it. God knows what services are before us, and how to prepare us…

Read the full comment on Acts 10:9-18 →

Acts 10:11 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiandG2532
θεωρεῖtheōreihe beholdsG2334
τὸνton<the>G3588
οὐρανὸνouranonheavenG3772
ἀνεῳγμένονaneōgmenonopenedG455
καὶkaiandG2532
καταβαῖνονkatabainondescendingG2597
ἐπ᾽ep᾽ontoG1909
αὐτὸνautonhimG846
σκεῦόςskeuosa vesselG4632
τιticertainG5100
ὡςhōsasG5613
ὀθόνηνothonēna sheetG3607
μεγάληνmegalēngreatG3173
τέσσαρσινtessarsinby fourG5064
ἀρχαῖςarchaiscornersG746
δεδεμένονdedemenonboundG1210
καὶkaiandG2532
καθιέμενονkathiemenonbeing let downG2524
ἐπὶepiuponG1909
τῆςtēstheG3588
γῆς·gēsearth;G1093

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Acts 10:11

  • Ephesians 3:6

    That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

  • John 1:51

    And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

  • Romans 16:25-26

    Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

  • Isaiah 11:6-14

    The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. …

  • Revelation 4:1

    After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

  • John 12:32

    And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

  • Acts 7:56

    And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

  • Isaiah 56:8

    The Lord God which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.

  • Isaiah 43:6

    I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;

  • Romans 1:16

    For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

  • Colossians 3:11

    Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

  • Genesis 49:10

    The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
saw.
7:56; Eze 1:1; Lu 3:21; Joh 1:51; Re 4:1; 11:19; 19:11
and a.
Ge 49:10; Isa 11:6-14; 19:23-25; 43:6; 56:8; Mt 8:11; 13:47,48
Joh 11:52; 12:32; Ro 1:16; 3:29-31; 9:4; 15:9-12; 16:25,26
Ga 2:15; 3:28; Eph 1:10; 3:6; Col 3:11
vessel.The word [skeuos ,] which corresponds to the Hebrew kelee, denotes every kind of vessel or utensil, any thing which may be considered as a receptacle; and is therefore applicable to a sheet [othone ,] or any thing woven from flax, tied up at the four corners, which our word vessel is not.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Acts 10:10

    And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

  • Acts 10:11

    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:

  • Acts 10:12

    Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

Read all of Acts 10

Acts 10:11 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y vió el cielo abierto, y que descendía un vaso, como un gran lienzo, que atado de los cuatro cabos era bajado á la tierra;
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il voit le ciel ouvert, et un vase descendant comme une grande toile liée par les quatre coins et dévalée en terre,
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er sieht den Himmel geöffnet und ein gewisses Gefäß, gleich einem großen leinenen Tuche, herabkommen, an vier Zipfeln gebunden und auf die Erde herniedergelassen,
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		et vidit cælum apertum, et descendens vas quoddam, velut linteum magnum, quatuor initiis submitti de cælo in terram,