Acts 11:6

6 Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.

Acts 11:6 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 11:6

Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes
Not of his body, but of his mind; for this was only in vision presented to him, when he was as Paul was, not knowing whether in the body or out of it:

I considered:
being intent upon this object, he considered in his mind what it was, and what it should mean; it being something strange and unusual; which came down from heaven, and out of it, and came so close and near to him, that it engrossed all his thoughts, and was the subject of deep meditation:

and saw four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and
creeping things, and fowls of the air;
not pourtrayed upon the sheet, but standing or walking upon it; the Syriac Version leaves out, "the wild beasts"; and the Ethiopic versions, "the creeping things"; but both are in the Greek copies, and in other versions.

Acts 11:6 In-Context

4 But Peter began and explained to them in order:
5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, something descending, like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came down to me.
6 Looking at it closely I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air.
7 And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.'
8 But I said, 'No, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.