Acts 10 · Verse 14

Acts 10:14

But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
Acts 10:14, King James Version

Acts 10:14 in other translations

BSB“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
WEBBut Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
ASVBut Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean.
YLTAnd Peter said, ‘Not so, Lord; because at no time did I eat anything common or unclean;'
DARBYAnd Peter said, In no wise, Lord; for I have never eaten anything common or unclean.
BBEBut Peter said, No, Lord; for I have never taken food which is common or unclean.
WebsterBut Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

What does Acts 10:14 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 14. I have never eaten, etc. In the Old Testament, God had made a distinction between clean and unclean animals. See Lev 11:2-27, De 14:3-20. This law remained in the Scriptures, and Peter pleaded that he had never violated it, implying that he could not now violate it; as it was a law of God, and as it was unrepealed, he did not dare to act in a different manner from what it required. Between that law, and the command which he now received in the vision, there was an apparent variation; and Peter naturally referred to the well-known and admitted written law. One design of the vision was to show him that that law was now to pass away.

That is common. This word properly denotes that which pertains to all; but among the Jews, who were bound by special laws, and who were prohibited from many things that were freely indulged in by other nations, the word common came to be opposed to the word sacred, and to denote that which was in common use among the heathens--hence that which was profane or polluted. Here it means the same as profane, or forbidden.

Unclean. Ceremonially unclean; i.e., that which is forbidden by the ceremonial law of Moses.

(b) "common" Lev 11:2, 20:25, De 14:3, Eze 4:14

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 14 Common or unclean - By common, κοινον, whatever was in general use among the Gentiles is to be understood; by ακαθαρτον, unclean, every thing that was forbidden by the Mosaic law. However, the one word may be considered as explanatory of the other. The rabbins themselves, and many of the primitive fathers, believed that by the unclean animals forbidden by the law the Gentiles were meant.

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 10:14 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.

ὁho<the>G3588
δὲdeAndG1161
ΠέτροςPetrosPeterG4074
εἶπεν·eipensaid;G2036
μηδαμῶς,mēdamōsIn no way,G3365
κύριε·kurieLord;G2962
ὅτιhotiforG3754
οὐδέποτεoudepoteneverG3763
ἔφαγονephagonI ateG5315
πᾶνpananythingG3956
κοινὸνkoinoncommonG2839
καὶkaiorG2532
ἀκάθαρτον.akathartonunclean.G169

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

Cross references for Acts 10:14

  • Leviticus 20:25

    Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.

  • Ezekiel 4:14

    Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.

  • Deuteronomy 14:1-29

    Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, …

  • Daniel 1:8

    But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

  • Leviticus 11:1-25

    And the Lord spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth. Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat. Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you. …

  • Matthew 25:9

    But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

  • Luke 1:60

    And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

  • Acts 9:5

    And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

  • Acts 10:28

    And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

  • Ezekiel 44:31

    The priests shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast.

  • Matthew 16:22

    Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

  • Exodus 10:11

    Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Not.
Ge 19:18; Ex 10:11; Mt 16:22; 25:9; Lu 1:60
for.
Le 11:1-17; 20:25; De 14:1-29; Eze 4:14; 44:31

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

Context

  • Acts 10:13

    And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

  • Acts 10:14

    But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

  • Acts 10:15

    And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Read all of Acts 10

Acts 10:14 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Entonces Pedro dijo: Señor, no; porque ninguna cosa común é inmunda he comido jamás.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Mais Pierre dit: Non point, Seigneur; car jamais je n’ai rien mangé qui soit impur ou immonde.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Petrus aber sprach: Keineswegs, Herr! denn niemals habe ich irgend etwas Gemeines oder Unreines gegessen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Ait autem Petrus: Absit Domine, quia numquam manducavi omne commune et immundum.