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¹ A man was in Cesarie, Cornelie bi name, a centurien of the cumpanye of knyytis, that is seid of Italie;² a religious man, and dredinge the Lord, with al his meyne; doynge many almessis to the puple, and preynge the Lord euere more.³ This say in a visioun opinli, as in the nynthe oure of the dai, an aungel of God entringe in to hym, and seiynge to hym, Cornelie.⁴ And he bihelde hym, and was a dred, and seide, Who art thou, Lord? And he seide to hym, Thi preieris and thin almesdedis han stied vp in to mynde, in the siyt of the Lord.⁵ And now sende thou men in to Joppe, and clepe oon Symount, that is named Petre.⁶ This is herborid at a man Symount, curiour, whos hous is bisidis the see. This schal seie to thee, what it bihoueth thee to do.⁷ And whanne the aungel that spak to hym, was gon awei, he clepide twei men of his hous, and a knyyt that dredde the Lord, whiche weren at his bidding.⁸ And whanne he hadde told hem alle these thingis, he sente hem in to Joppe.

⁹ And on the dai suynge, while thei maden iournei, and neiyeden to the citee, Petre wente vp in to the hiest place of the hous to preie, aboute the sixte our.¹⁰ And whanne he was hungrid, he wolde haue ete. But while thei maden redi, a rauysching of spirit felde on hym;¹¹ and he say heuene openyd, and a vessel comynge doun, as a greet scheet with foure corneris, to be lette doun fro heuene in to erthe,¹² in which weren alle foure footid beestis, and crepinge of the erthe, and volatilis of heuene.¹³ And a vois was maad to hym, Rise thou, Petre, and sle, and ete.¹⁴ And Petre seide, Lord, forbede, for Y neuer ete ony comun thing and vnclene.¹⁵ And eft the secounde tyme the vois was maad to him, That thing that God hath clensid, seye thou not vnclene.¹⁶ And this thing was don bi thries; and anoon the vessel was resseyued ayen.¹⁷ And while that Petre doutide with ynne hym silf, what the visioun was that he say, lo! the men, that weren sent fro Corneli, souyten the hous of Symount, and stoden at the yate.¹⁸ And whanne thei hadden clepid, thei axiden if Symount, that is named Petre, hadde there herbore.

¹⁹ And while Petre thouyte on the visioun, the spirit seide to hym, Lo! thre men seken thee.²⁰ Therfor ryse thou, and go doun, and go with hem, and doute thou no thing, for Y sente hem.²¹ And Petre cam doun to the men, and seide, Lo! Y am, whom ye seken; what is the cause, for which ye ben come?²² And thei seiden, Cornelie, the centurien, a iust man, and dredinge God, and hath good witnessyng of alle the folc of Jewis, took aunswere of an hooli aungel, to clepe thee in to his hous, and to here wordis of thee.²³ Therfor he ledde hem inne, and resseyuede in herbore; and that nyyt thei dwelliden with hym. And in the dai suynge he roos, and wente forth with hem; and sum of the britheren folewiden hym fro Joppe, that thei be witnessis to Petre.²⁴ And the other dai he entride in to Cesarie. And Cornelie abood hem, with hise cousyns, and necessarie freendis, that weren clepid togidere.²⁵ And it was don, whanne Petre was come ynne, Corneli cam metynge hym, and felle doun at hise feet, and worschipide him.²⁶ But Petre reiside hym, and seide, Aryse thou, also Y my silf am a man, as thou.²⁷ And he spak with hym, and wente in, and foonde many that weren come togidere.²⁸ And he seide to hem, Ye witen, how abhomynable it is to a Jewe, to be ioyned ether to come to an alien; but God schewide to me, that no man seye a man comyn, ethir vnclene.²⁹ For which thing Y cam, whanne Y was clepid, with out douting. Therfor Y axe you, for what cause han ye clepid me?³⁰ And Cornelie seide, To dai foure daies in to this our, Y was preiynge and fastynge in the nynthe our in myn hous. And lo! a man stood bifore me in a whijt cloth, and seide,³¹ Cornelie, thi preier is herd, and thin almesdedis ben in mynde in the siyt of God.³² Therfor sende thou in to Joppe, and clepe Symount, that is named Petre; this is herborid in the hous of Symount coriour, bisidis the see. This, whanne he schal come, schal speke to thee.³³ Therfor anoon Y sente to thee, and thou didist wel in comynge to vs. `Now therfor we alle ben present in thi siyt, to here the wordis, what euer ben comaundid to thee of the Lord.

³⁴ And Petre openyde his mouth, and seide, In trewthe Y haue foundun, that God is no acceptor of persoones;³⁵ but in eche folk he that dredith God, and worchith riytwisnesse, is accept to hym.³⁶ God sente a word to the children of Israel, schewinge pees bi Jhesu Crist; this is Lord of alle thingis.³⁷ Ye witen the word that is maad thorou al Judee, and bigan at Galile, aftir the baptym that Joon prechide, Jhesu of Nazareth;³⁸ hou God anoyntide hym with the Hooli Goost, and vertu; which passide forth in doynge wel, and heelynge alle men oppressid of the deuel, for God was with hym.³⁹ And we ben witnessis of alle thingis, whiche he dide in the cuntrei of Jewis, and of Jerusalem; whom thei slowen, hangynge in a tre.⁴⁰ And God reiside this in the thridde dai, and yaf hym to be maad knowun,⁴¹ not to al puple, but to witnessis bifor ordeyned of God; to vs that eeten and drunken with hym, after that he roos ayen fro deth.⁴² And he comaundide to vs to preche to the puple, and to witnesse, that he it is, that is ordeyned of God domesman of the quyk and of deede.⁴³ To this alle prophetis beren witnessing, that alle men that bileuen in hym, schulen resseyue remyssioun of synnes bi his name.

⁴⁴ And yit while that Petre spak these wordis, the Hooli Goost felde on alle that herden the word.⁴⁵ And the feithful men of circumcisioun, that camen with Petre, wondriden, that also in to naciouns the grace of the Hooli Goost is sched out.⁴⁶ For thei herden hem spekynge in langagis, and magnyfiynge God.⁴⁷ Thanne Petre answeride, Whether ony man may forbede watir, that these ben not baptisid, that han also resseyued the Hooli Goost as we?⁴⁸ And he comaundide hem to be baptisid in the name of the Lord Jhesu Crist. Thanne thei preieden hym, that he schulde dwelle with hem sum daies.