Acts 15
1 And certain men came down from Judaea, and taught the brethren, that unless ye be circumcised, in accordance with the rite of the law, ye cannot have life.
Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2 And Paul and Barnabas had much trouble and disputation with them. And it resulted, that Paul and Barnabas, and others with them, went up to the legates and Elders at Jerusalem, because of this matter.
And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
3 And the church waited on them, and sent them away; and they travelled through all Phenicia and the territory of the Samaritans, narrating the conversion of the Gentiles, and causing great joy to all the brethren.
Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.
4 And when they came to Jerusalem, they were received by the church, and by the Elders, and by the legates; and they recounted all that God had wrought by them.
On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.
5 And some who from the sect of the Pharisees had believed, rose up and said: It is necessary for you to circumcise them, and to command them to observe the law of Moses.
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
6 And the legates and Elders assembled, to look into this matter.
So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.
7 And when there had been much discussion, Simon arose and said to them: Men, brethren, ye know that, from the earlier days, God chose that from my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and should believe.
After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
8 And God, who knoweth what is in hearts, bore testimony concerning them, and gave the Holy Spirit to them, even as to us.
And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
9 And he made no distinction between them and us; because he purified their hearts by faith.
He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.
10 And now, why tempt ye God, by putting a yoke on the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we could bear?
Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
11 But we believe, that we as well as they, are to have life by the grace of our Lord Jesus Messiah.
On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
12 And the whole assembly were silent, and listened to Paul and Barnabas, who related how God by their hands had wrought signs and prodigies among the Gentiles.
The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
13 And after they ceased, James arose and said: Men, brethren, hearken to me.
When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!
14 Simon hath related to you, how God hath begun to elect a people for his name from among the Gentiles.
Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.
15 And with this the words of the prophets accord, as it is written:
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
16 After these things I will return, and will set up the tabernacle of David that had fallen; and will build that which was in ruins in it, and will raise it up:
‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
17 so that the residue of men may seek the Lord, and all the nations on whom my name is called; saith the Lord, who doth all these things.
so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things
that have been known for ages.’ (aiōn g165)
19 Therefore I say to you, let them not crush those who from among the Gentiles have turned unto God.
It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
20 But let word be sent to them, that they keep aloof from the defilement of a sacrifice to idols, and from whoredom, and from what is strangled, and from blood.
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
21 For in every city, from former ages, Moses hath heralds in the synagogues, who read him every sabbath.
For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
22 Then the legates and Elders, with all the church, chose men from among themselves, and sent them to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Jude, who was called Barsabas, and Silas, men who were chiefs among the brethren.
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,
23 And they wrote a letter by them, thus: The legates and Elders and brethren, to them that are in Antioch, and in Syria, and in Cilicia, brethren who are from the Gentiles, greeting:
and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.
24 We have heard, that some have gone from us and disquieted you, by discourses, and have subverted your minds, by saying, That ye must be circumcised and keep the law; things which we have not commanded them.
It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.
25 Therefore we all have thought fit, when assembled, to choose and send men to you, with our beloved Paul and Barnabas,
So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have given up their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Messiah.
men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 And we have sent with them Jude and Silas, that they may tell you the same things orally.
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.
28 For it was pleasing to the Holy Spirit, and to us, that there should not be laid upon you any additional burden, besides these necessary things:
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:
29 that ye keep aloof from a sacrifice to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from whoredom. And if ye keep yourselves from these, ye will do well. Be ye steadfast in the Lord.
You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
30 And they who were sent, came to Antioch, and assembled all the people, and delivered the letter.
So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter.
31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced and were comforted.
When the people read it, they rejoiced at its encouraging message.
32 And with abundant discourse they strengthened the brethren; and the associates of Jude and Silas established them, because they also were prophets.
Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
33 And when, they had been there some time, the brethren dismissed them in peace to the legates.
After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers in peace to return to those who had sent them.
34 But it was the pleasure of Silas to remain there.
35 Paul also and Barnabas remained at Antioch; and they taught and proclaimed, with many others, the word of God.
But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.
36 And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas: Let us return, and visit the brethren in every city, in which we have preached the word of God; and let us see what they are doing.
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”
37 And Barnabas was disposed to take John, who was surnamed Mark.
Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.
38 But Paul was not willing to take him with them; because he left them when they were in Pamphylia, and went not with them.
But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.
39 In, consequence of this strife, they separated from each other: and Barnabas took Mark, and they travelled by sea and went to Cyprus.
Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
40 But Paul chose Silas for his companion, and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
41 And he travelled through Syria, and through Cilicia, and strengthened the churches.
And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
