Acts 15
1 And summe camen doun fro Judee, and tauyten britheren, That but ye ben circumcidid after the lawe of Moises, ye moun not be maad saaf.
[Then] some [Jewish] believers went down from Judea [province] to Antioch. They started teaching the [non-Jewish] believers [there, and said], “[You] ([must] be circumcised/must have God’s mark put on you) [to indicate you belong to God], as Moses [commanded] in the laws that [he received from God]. If you do not do that, you will not be saved {[God] will not save you}.”
2 Therfor whanne ther was maad not a litil discencioun to Poul and Barnabas ayens hem, thei ordeyneden, that Poul and Barnabas, and summe othere of hem, schulden go vp to the apostlis and preestis in Jerusalem, on this questioun.
Paul and Barnabas strongly disagreed with those Jews and started arguing [with them. So the believers at Antioch] appointed Paul and Barnabas and some of the other believers to go to Jerusalem, in order that they would/could discuss this matter with the apostles and [other spiritual] leaders.
3 And so thei weren led forth of the chirche, and passiden bi Fenyce and Samarie; and thei telden the conuersacioun of hethene men, and thei maden greet ioie to alle the britheren.
After Paul, Barnabas, and the others were given things for their trip by the congregation [at Antioch] {After the congregation [at Antioch] gave Paul, Barnabas, and the others things for their trip}, they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria [provinces. When they stopped at different places in those provinces], they reported [to the believers] that [many] non-Jews [in Antioch] had become believers. As a result, all the believers [in those places] rejoiced greatly.
4 And whanne thei camen to Jerusalem, thei weren resseyued of the chirche and of the apostlis, and of the eldre men, and telden, hou greet thingis God dide with hem.
And when Paul, Barnabas, and the others arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the apostles, the [other] elders, and the [other members of the] congregation [there] {the apostles, the [other] elders, and the [other members of the] congregation [there] welcomed them}. Then Paul and Barnabas reported the things that God had enabled them to do [among non-Jewish people].
5 But summe of the erise of Fariseis, that bileueden, risen vp, and seiden, That it bihoueth hem to be circumsidid, and to comaunde to kepe also the lawe of Moises.
But some of the [Jewish] believers who belonged to the Pharisee sect stood up [among the other believers and] said to them, “The non-Jews [who have believed in Jesus] must be circumcised, and they must be told to obey the laws [that God gave to] Moses.”
6 And the apostlis and eldre men camen togidre, to se of `this word.
Then the apostles and [the other] elders met together in order to talk about this matter.
7 And whanne there was maad a greet sekyng herof, Petre roos, and seide to hem, Britheren, ye witen, that of elde daies in you God chees bi my mouth hethene, to here the word of the gospel, and to bileue;
After they had discussed it for a long time, Peter stood up and spoke to them. He said, “Fellow believers, you [all] know that a long time ago God chose me from among you [other apostles, in order that] the non-Jewish people might [also] hear me [SYN] tell [them] the good message [about the Lord Jesus], so that they could hear [it] and believe [in him. So Paul and Barnabas are not the first ones to tell non-Jews about Jesus].
8 and God, that knewe hertis, bar witnessing, and yaf to hem the Hooli Goost, as also to vs;
God knows [and judges] people according to what they think, [not according to who their ancestors were]. By sending the Holy Spirit to [the non-Jews], just like [he had] also done for us [(inc)] Jews, he showed [me and others] that he had accepted them [also to be his people].
9 and no thing diuerside bitwixe vs and hem, `and clenside the hertis of hem bi feith.
[God] saved us [Jews] and those [non-Jews] similarly, making them clean spiritually simply as a result of their believing [in the Lord Jesus. That was exactly how he has forgiven us].
10 Now thanne what tempten ye God, to putte a yok on the necke of the disciplis, which nether we, nether oure fadris miyten bere?
[You are wanting to force the non-Jewish believers to obey our Jewish rituals and laws]—laws that God has shown that he does not require them to obey [MET]. [Your doing that is like] putting a heavy burden on them! So then, (stop making God angry by doing that!/why are you making God angry by doing that?) [RHQ] Our ancestors and we [(inc) Jews] have never been able to bear [the burden of obeying those laws]!
11 But bi the grace of oure Lord Jhesu Crist we bileuen to be saued, as also thei.
But we [(inc) know that it is not because] we [(inc) try to obey those laws that God saves us(inc) Jews. On the contrary], we [(inc)] know that it is because of what the Lord Jesus did for us [(inc)] that we did not deserve that we [(inc)] are saved {that [God] saves us} [from the guilt of our sins. God saves non-Jews who believe in the Lord Jesus] exactly like [he saves] us Jews.”
12 And al the multitude helde pees, and herden Barnaban and Poul, tellinge hou grete signes and wondris God dide bi hem in hethene men.
All the people [there] became silent [after Peter had spoken]. Then they [all] listened to Barnabas and Paul, [as the two of] them told about the many great miracles that God had enabled them to do among the non-Jewish people, [miracles that showed that God had accepted the non-Jews].
13 And aftir that thei helden pees, James answeride, and seide, Britheren, here ye me.
When Barnabas and Paul had finished speaking, James, [the leader of the group of believers there in Jerusalem], spoke to all of them. [He said], “Fellow believers, listen to me.
14 Symount telde, hou God visitide, first to take of hethene men a puple to his name.
Simon [Peter] has told you how God previously blessed the non-Jews. God did that by choosing from among them a people who would belong to him [MTY].
15 And the wordis of prophetis acorden to him,
[These] words that [God spoke], words that were written by [one of] the prophets {that one of the prophets wrote} [long ago], agree with that:
16 as it is writun, Aftir this Y schal turne ayen, and bilde the tabernacle of Dauid, that felle doun; and Y schal bilde ayen the cast doun thingis of it, and Y schal reise it;
Later on I will return and I will re-establish the kingdom [MET] that David [ruled] and that has been {that [people] have} destroyed. My [doing that will be like] rebuilding [a house] that has been {that [people] have} torn down.
17 that other men seke the Lord, and alle folkis on which my name is clepid to helpe; the Lord doynge this thing, seith.
I will do that in order that all other people might seek [me], the Lord [God. I will do that in order that] all the non-Jews whom I have called [to belong] to me [MTY] might seek me. [You can be certain that this will happen because I] the Lord [God], who will do those things, have spoken [these words].
I [caused my people to know about them] long ago.” (aiōn g165)
19 For which thing Y deme hem that of hethene men ben conuertid to God,
[James continued by saying], “Therefore I have decided [that we(inc)] should stop bothering the non-Jewish people who are turning [away from their sins and turning] to God. [That is, we should stop demanding that they obey] all [our laws] and rituals.
20 to be not disesid, but to write to hem, that thei absteyne hem fro defoulingis of maumetis, and fro fornicacioun, and stranglid thingis, and blood.
Instead, we should write [a letter] to them [requiring only four things: They should] not eat [meat/food that people] have offered to idols, they should not have sex with someone to whom they are not married, they should not [eat meat from animals that have been killed by] being strangled {[people have strangled]}, and [they should not eat] the blood [of animals].
21 For Moyses of elde tymes hath in alle citees hem that prechen him in synagogis, where bi ech sabat he is red.
In many cities, for a very long time people have been proclaiming [the laws that] Moses [wrote] [MTY], [laws prohibiting those things]. And every (Sabbath/Jewish day of rest) [those laws] are read {someone reads [those laws]} in the Jewish meeting places. [So if the non-Jews want to know more about those laws, they can find out in our meeting houses].”
22 Thanne it pleside to the apostlis, and to the eldre men, with al the chirche, to chees men of hem, and sende to Antioche, with Poul and Barnabas, Judas, that was named Barsabas, and Silas, the firste men among britheren;
The apostles and the [other] elders, along with all the [other] members of the congregation, accepted [what James had said]. Then they decided that they should choose men from among themselves and that they should send them, along with Paul and Barnabas, to Antioch, to [let the believers there know what the leaders] at Jerusalem had decided. So they chose Judas, who was also called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the believers [at Jerusalem].
23 and wroten bi the hondis of hem, Apostlis and eldre britheren to hem that ben at Antioche, and Sirie, and Silice, britheren of hethen men, greting.
Then they wrote the following letter [that they asked Judas and Silas to take to the believers at Antioch]: “[We(exc)] apostles and [other] leaders who are your fellow believers [send our greetings to you as we write this to you] non-Jewish believers [who live] in Antioch and [other places in] Syria and Cilicia [provinces].
24 For we herden that summe wenten out fro vs, and trobliden you with wordis, and turneden vpsodoun youre soulis, to whiche men we comaundiden not,
People have told us that some men from among us went [to you], although we had not told [them to do that]. They troubled/distressed you [SYN] [by telling you things] that confused your thinking.
25 it pleside to vs gaderid in to oon, to chese men, and sende to you, with oure most dereworthe Barnabas and Poul,
So [while we(exc) met together here], we decided to choose some men and ask them to go to you, along with Barnabas and Paul, whom we [(exc)] love very much.
26 men that yauen her lyues for the name of oure Lord Jhesu Crist.
Those two have put their lives in danger because of their [serving] our Lord [MTY] Jesus Christ.
27 Therfor we senten Judas and Silas, and thei schulen telle the same thingis to you bi wordis.
We [(exc) have also chosen] Judas and Silas to go to you. They will tell you the same things [that we are writing].
28 For it is seyn to the Hooly Goost and to vs, to putte to you no thing more of charge, than these nedeful thingis,
The Holy Spirit and [also] we decided that you should not be required {that we should not require you} to obey a lot of burdensome [Jewish] laws. Instead, [we] only [require you to obey] the following instructions,
29 that ye absteyne you fro the offrid thingis of maumetis, and blood stranglid, and fornicacioun. Fro whiche ye kepinge you, schulen do wel. Fare ye wel.
You should not eat food that people have sacrificed to idols. You should not eat blood from animals, and you should not eat meat from animals that people have killed by strangling them. Also, you should not have sex with someone to whom you are not married. Those things [especially offend Jewish believers. So if] you avoid doing them, you will be doing what is right. That is all.”
30 Therfor thei weren let go, and camen doun to Antioche; and whanne the multitude was gaderid, thei token the epistle;
The [four] men whom [they] had chosen went [from Jerusalem] to Antioch [city. When] all the believers [there] had assembled together, [Judas and Silas] gave the letter to them.
31 which whanne thei hadden red, thei ioyden on the coumfort.
When the believers there read the letter, they rejoiced, [because its message] encouraged them.
32 And Judas and Silas and thei, for thei weren prophetis, coumfortiden britheren, and confermyden with ful many wordis.
[Just like Paul and Barnabas were] ([prophets/men who spoke messages from God]), Judas and Silas were also prophets. They spoke for a long time and encouraged the believers [there], and helped them to trust more strongly [in the Lord Jesus].
33 But aftir that thei hadden be there a lytil while, thei weren let go of britheren with pees, to hem that hadden sent hem.
After [Judas and Silas] had stayed in Antioch for some time [and were ready to return to Jerusalem], the believers [there] wished them well, and the believers [prayed that God] would protect [them as they traveled. So the two men] started to go back to the leaders [in Jerusalem] who had asked them to go [to Antioch].
34 But it was seyn to Silas, to dwelle there; and Judas wente aloone to Jerusalem.
35 And Poul and Barnabas dwelten at Antioche, techinge and prechinge the word of the Lord, with othere manye.
However, Paul and Barnabas continued to stay in Antioch. [While they were there], they, along with many others, were teaching [people] and preaching to them the message about the Lord [Jesus].
36 But after summe daies, Poul seide to Barnabas, Turne we ayen, and visite britheren bi alle citees, in whiche we han prechid the word of the Lord, hou thei han hem.
After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the fellow believers in every city where we [previously] proclaimed the message about the Lord [Jesus. In that way, we will know] how [well] they are continuing [to believe in the Lord Jesus].”
37 And Barnabas wolde take with hym Joon, that was named Marcus.
Barnabas [agreed with Paul, and said that he] wanted to take John, whose other name was Mark, along with them [again].
38 But Poul preiede him, that he that departide fro hem fro Pamfilie, and wente not with hem in to the werk, schulde not be resseyued.
However, Paul [told Barnabas that he] thought that it would not be good to take Mark [with them, because] Mark had deserted them when they were previously in Pamphylia [region], and had not continued to work with them.
39 And dissencioun was maad, so that thei departiden a twynny. And Barnabas took Mark, and cam bi boot to Cipre.
Paul and Barnabas strongly disagreed [with each other about that], so they separated. Barnabas took Mark [along with him and they got] on a ship and went to Cyprus.
40 And Poul chees Silas, and wente forth fro the britheren, and was bitakun to the grace of God.
Paul chose Silas, [who had returned to Antioch, to work with him]. The believers [there] asked the Lord [God] to graciously help [Paul and Silas. Then] the two of them departed [from Antioch].
41 And he wente bi Sirie and Silice, and confermyde the chirche, comaundinge to kepe the heestis of apostlis and eldre men.
Paul continued traveling [with Silas] through Syria and Cilicia [provinces]. In those places he was helping the congregations to trust strongly [in the Lord Jesus].
