Acts 11:8
in Acts 11‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into my mouth.
KJV
But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
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This verse in Acts 11
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"But I said: no, Lord." You see, says Peter, I did my part. This is an apology against what they said: "you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them." And he, nevertheless, defends himself, and does not use the authority of a teacher. Because …
This site's exposition
Then I heard a voice
on Acts 11:7-10
Told to kill and eat, Peter answers that nothing impure or unclean has ever entered his mouth. The reply, Do not call anything impure that God has made clean, comes three times, the mark of a settled matter.
This site's exposition
nothing impure or unclean has ever entered
Two words stand here, impure for what common contact had defiled and unclean for what Leviticus 11 forbade outright. Peter speaks as the faithful Jews of 1 Maccabees 1:62 to 63 did, who chose death over unclean food. His record was spotless.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth." Do you mark? "I did my part," says he: "I said, that I have never eaten aught common or unclean:" with reference to this that they said, "Thou wentest in, and didst eat with them." But this he does not say to Cornelius: for there was no need to mention it to him.
Peter showed in his defense that he had by no means been the cause, but God everywhere. For he said, he himself set me in the excess of mind, he himself pointed out the sheet, and I indeed even contradicted; again the same he himself …
Observe his freedom from all elation and vainglory. For it says, "But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of Joppa, praying:" he does not say why, nor on what occasion: "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: upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat." As much as to say, This of itself was enough to have persuaded me - my having seen the linen sheet: but moreover a Voice was added. "But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth." Do you mark? "I did my part," says he: "I said, that I have never eaten aught common or unclean:" with reference to this that they said, "Thou wentest in, and didst eat with them." But this he does not say to Cornelius: for there was no need to mention it to him. "But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven."
The Medieval Church1 voice
Peter did not dwell on this trifle, but based himself on what was of great importance. If, he says, they received the Spirit, then how could one not impart this to them? By this defense he shows that he is in no way at fault, …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But he was told from heaven that the case was now altered, that God had cleansed those persons and things which were before polluted; and therefore that he must no longer call them common, nor look upon them as unfit to be meddled with by the peculiar people (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But I said, not so, Lord,....
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| εἶπον | eipon | I said | G2036 → | 925 times |
| δέ· | de | however; | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| μηδαμῶς, | medamos | In no way, | G3365 → | |
| κύριε· | kurie | Lord; | G2962 → | 711 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | for | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| κοινὸν | koinon | common | G2839 → | 14 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| ἀκάθαρτον | akatharton | unclean | G169 → | 32 times |
| οὐδέποτε | oudepote | nothing ever | G3763 → | 16 times |
| εἰσῆλθεν | eiselthen | has entered | G1525 → | 194 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| τὸ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| στόμα | stoma | mouth | G4750 → | 78 times |
| μου. | mou | of mine. | G3165 → | 1936 times |
εἶπονI said
eiponG2036 →925 times
δέ·however;
deG1161 →2765 times
μηδαμῶς,In no way,
medamosG3365 →
κύριε·Lord;
kurieG2962 →711 times
ὅτιfor
hotiG3754 →1292 times
κοινὸνcommon
koinonG2839 →14 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
ἀκάθαρτονunclean
akathartonG169 →32 times
οὐδέποτεnothing ever
oudepoteG3763 →16 times
εἰσῆλθενhas entered
eiselthenG1525 →194 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
τὸthe
toG3588 →19766 times
στόμαmouth
stomaG4750 →78 times
μου.of mine.
mouG3165 →1936 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 14:14I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
it leads to
- Titus 1:15
To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 10:14–15
“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 4:4
For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected,
- Romans 14:2
For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables.
- Titus 1:15
Through
Leviticus 10:10You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the clean and the unclean,
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:26
Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They…
- 1 Peter 1:14–16
As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.
- Leviticus 11:47
You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between animals that may be eaten and those that may not.’”
- Ezekiel 22:26
Through
1 Corinthians 7:14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.
it leads to
- Malachi 2:15–16
Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the…
- Malachi 2:15–16
Where this verse is studied
About Acts
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on Acts; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 24; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.