The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

²² Then the apostles and elders,^(A) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch^(B) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,^(C) men who were leaders among the believers. ²³ With them they sent the following letter:

³⁰ So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹ The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas,^(A) who themselves were prophets,^(B) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. ³³ After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace^(C) to return to those who had sent them.

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

16 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra,^(A) where a disciple named Timothy^(B) lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer^(C) but whose father was a Greek. ² The believers^(D) at Lystra and Iconium^(E) spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.^{(F) 4} As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders^(G) in Jerusalem^(H) for the people to obey.^{(I) 5} So the churches were strengthened^(J) in the faith and grew daily in numbers.^(K)