Acts 15

¹And summe camen doun fro Judee, and tauyten britheren, That but ye ben circumcidid after the lawe of Moises, ye moun not be maad saaf.

²Therfor 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.

³And 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.

⁴And 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.

⁵But 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.

⁶And the apostlis and eldre men camen togidre, to se of `this word.

⁷And 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;

⁸and God, that knewe hertis, bar witnessing, and yaf to hem the Hooli Goost, as also to vs;

⁹and no thing diuerside bitwixe vs and hem, `and clenside the hertis of hem bi feith.

¹⁰Now thanne what tempten ye God, to putte a yok on the necke of the disciplis, which nether we, nether oure fadris miyten bere?

¹¹But bi the grace of oure Lord Jhesu Crist we bileuen to be saued, as also thei.

¹²And al the multitude helde pees, and herden Barnaban and Poul, tellinge hou grete signes and wondris God dide bi hem in hethene men.

¹³And aftir that thei helden pees, James answeride, and seide, Britheren, here ye me.

¹⁴Symount telde, hou God visitide, first to take of hethene men a puple to his name.

¹⁵And the wordis of prophetis acorden to him,

¹⁶as 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;

¹⁷that other men seke the Lord, and alle folkis on which my name is clepid to helpe; the Lord doynge this thing, seith.

¹⁸Fro the world, the werk of the Lord is knowun to the Lord.

¹⁹For which thing Y deme hem that of hethene men ben conuertid to God,

²⁰to be not disesid, but to write to hem, that thei absteyne hem fro defoulingis of maumetis, and fro fornicacioun, and stranglid thingis, and blood.

²¹For Moyses of elde tymes hath in alle citees hem that prechen him in synagogis, where bi ech sabat he is red.

²²Thanne 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;

²³and 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.

²⁴For we herden that summe wenten out fro vs, and trobliden you with wordis, and turneden vpsodoun youre soulis, to whiche men we comaundiden not,

²⁵it pleside to vs gaderid in to oon, to chese men, and sende to you, with oure most dereworthe Barnabas and Poul,

²⁶men that yauen her lyues for the name of oure Lord Jhesu Crist.

²⁷Therfor we senten Judas and Silas, and thei schulen telle the same thingis to you bi wordis.

²⁸For it is seyn to the Hooly Goost and to vs, to putte to you no thing more of charge, than these nedeful thingis,

²⁹that 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.

³⁰Therfor thei weren let go, and camen doun to Antioche; and whanne the multitude was gaderid, thei token the epistle;

³¹which whanne thei hadden red, thei ioyden on the coumfort.

³²And Judas and Silas and thei, for thei weren prophetis, coumfortiden britheren, and confermyden with ful many wordis.

³³But aftir that thei hadden be there a lytil while, thei weren let go of britheren with pees, to hem that hadden sent hem.

³⁴But it was seyn to Silas, to dwelle there; and Judas wente aloone to Jerusalem.

³⁵And Poul and Barnabas dwelten at Antioche, techinge and prechinge the word of the Lord, with othere manye.

³⁶But 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.

³⁷And Barnabas wolde take with hym Joon, that was named Marcus.

³⁸But Poul preiede him, that he that departide fro hem fro Pamfilie, and wente not with hem in to the werk, schulde not be resseyued.

³⁹And dissencioun was maad, so that thei departiden a twynny. And Barnabas took Mark, and cam bi boot to Cipre.

⁴⁰And Poul chees Silas, and wente forth fro the britheren, and was bitakun to the grace of God.

⁴¹And he wente bi Sirie and Silice, and confermyde the chirche, comaundinge to kepe the heestis of apostlis and eldre men.

Acts 15

¹And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

²When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

³And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice 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 of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.

⁵But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

⁶And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.

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

⁸And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

⁹And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

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

¹¹But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

¹²Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

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

¹⁴Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit 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 this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

¹⁷That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

¹⁸Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

¹⁹Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:

²⁰But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

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

²²Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

²³And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:

²⁴Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:

²⁵It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men 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 shall also tell you the same things by mouth.

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

²⁹That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

³⁰So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:

³¹Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.

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

³³And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.

³⁴Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.

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

³⁶And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.

³⁷And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

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

³⁹And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

⁴⁰And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

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