Acts 15

¹And certain men came down from Judæa and taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

²And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

³They therefore, being brought on their way by the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

⁴And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church and the apostles and the elders, and they rehearsed all things that God had done with them.

⁵But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.

⁶And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider of this matter.

⁷And when there had been much questioning, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Brethren, ye know that a good while ago God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

⁸And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us;

⁹and he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they.

¹²And all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened unto Barnabas and Paul rehearsing what signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles through them.

¹³And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:

¹⁴Symeon hath rehearsed how first God visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

¹⁵And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

¹⁶After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up:

¹⁷That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called,

¹⁸Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old.

¹⁹Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God;

²⁰but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood.

²¹For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath.

²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

²³and they wrote thus by them, The apostles and the elders, brethren, unto the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting:

²⁴Forasmuch as we have heard that certain who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment;

²⁵it seemed good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth.

²⁸For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.

³⁰So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.

³¹And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation.

³²And Judas and Silas, being themselves also prophets, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.

³³And after they had spent some time there, they were dismissed in peace from the brethren unto those that had sent them forth.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas tarried in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶And after some days Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brethren in every city wherein we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they fare.

³⁷And Barnabas was minded to take with them John also, who was called Mark.

³⁸But Paul thought not good to take with them him who withdrew from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.

³⁹And there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted asunder one from the other, and Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away unto Cyprus:

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas, and went forth, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

Acts 15

¹Then 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.”

²And 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.

³Sent 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.

⁴On 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.

⁵But 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.”

⁶So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.

⁷After 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.

⁸And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

⁹He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.

¹⁰Now 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?

¹¹On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

¹²The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

¹³When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!

¹⁴Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.

¹⁵The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

¹⁶‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

¹⁷so 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

¹⁸that have been known for ages.’

¹⁹It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

²⁰Instead, 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.

²¹For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

²²Then 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,

²³and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

²⁴It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.

²⁵So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.

²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:

²⁹You 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.

³⁰So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter.

³¹When the people read it, they rejoiced at its encouraging message.

³²Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

³³After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers in peace to return to those who had sent them.

³⁴

³⁵But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.

³⁶Some 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.”

³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.

³⁸But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

³⁹Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,

⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

⁴¹And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.