Acts 15
Complete Jewish Bible
15 But some men came down from Y’hudah to Antioch and began teaching the brothers, “You can’t be saved unless you undergo b’rit-milah in the manner prescribed by Moshe.” 2 This brought them into no small measure of discord and dispute with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. So the congregation assigned Sha’ul, Bar-Nabba and some of themselves to go and put this sh’eilah before the emissaries and the elders up in Yerushalayim.
3 After being sent off by the congregation, they made their way through Phoenicia and Shomron, recounting in detail how the Gentiles had turned to God; and this news brought great joy to all the brothers.
4 On arrival in Yerushalayim, they were welcomed by the Messianic community, including the emissaries and the elders; and they reported what God had done through them. 5 But some of those who had come to trust were from the party of the P’rushim; and they stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Torah of Moshe.”
6 The emissaries and the elders met to look into this matter. 7 After lengthy debate, Kefa got up and said to them, “Brothers, you yourselves know that a good while back, God chose me from among you to be the one by whose mouth the Goyim should hear the message of the Good News and come to trust. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore them witness by giving the Ruach HaKodesh to them, just as he did to us; 9 that is, he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their heart by trust. 10 So why are you putting God to the test now by placing a yoke on the neck of the talmidim which neither our fathers nor we have had the strength to bear? 11 No, it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Yeshua that we trust and are delivered — and it’s the same with them.”
12 Then the whole assembly kept still as they listened to Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul tell what signs and miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 Ya‘akov broke the silence to reply. “Brothers,” he said, “hear what I have to say. 14 Shim‘on has told in detail what God did when he first began to show his concern for taking from among the Goyim a people to bear his name. 15 And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written,
16 ‘“After this, I will return;
and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David.
I will rebuild its ruins,
I will restore it,
17 so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
that is, all the Goyim who have been called by my name,”
18 says Adonai, who is doing these things.’[a]
All this has been known for ages.
19 “Therefore, my opinion is that we should not put obstacles in the way of the Goyim who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For from the earliest times, Moshe has had in every city those who proclaim him, with his words being read in the synagogues every Shabbat.”
22 Then the emissaries and the elders, together with the whole Messianic community, decided to select men from among themselves to send to Antioch with Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba. They sent Y’hudah, called Bar-Sabba, and Sila, both leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter:
From: The emissaries and the elders, your brothers
To: The brothers from among the Gentiles throughout Antioch, Syria and Cilicia
Greetings!
24 We have heard that some people went out from among us without our authorization, and that they have upset you with their talk, unsettling your minds. 25 So we have decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our dear friends Bar-Nabba and Sha’ul, 26 who have dedicated their lives to upholding the name of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 27 So we have sent Y’hudah and Sila, and they will confirm in person what we are writing.
28 For it seemed good to the Ruach HaKodesh and to us not to lay any heavier burden on you than the following requirements: 29 to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will be doing the right thing.
Shalom!
30 The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the group together and delivered the letter. 31 After reading it, the people were delighted by its encouragement. 32 Y’hudah and Sila, who were also prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with a greeting of “Shalom!” from the brothers to those who had sent them. 34 [b] 35 But Sha’ul and Bar-Nabba stayed in Antioch, where they and many others taught and proclaimed the Good News of the message about the Lord.
36 After some time, Sha’ul said to Bar-Nabba, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we proclaimed the message about the Lord, and see how they’re doing.” 37 Now Bar-Nabba wanted to take with them Yochanan, the one called Mark. 38 But Sha’ul thought it would be unwise to take this man with them, since he had gone off and left them in Pamphylia to do the work by themselves. 39 There was such sharp disagreement over this that they separated from each other, with Bar-Nabba taking Mark and sailing off to Cyprus.
40 However, Sha’ul chose Sila and left, after the brothers had committed him to the love and kindness of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the congregations.
Footnotes
- Acts 15:18 Amos 9:11–12
- Acts 15:34 Some manuscripts include verse 34: But it seemed good to Sila to stay there.
Acts 15
Living Bible
15 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers that unless they adhered to the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision, they could not be saved. 2 Paul and Barnabas argued and discussed this with them at length, and finally the believers sent them to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local men, to talk to the apostles and elders there about this question. 3 After the entire congregation had escorted them out of the city, the delegates went on to Jerusalem, stopping along the way in the cities of Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers, telling them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted.
4 Arriving in Jerusalem, they met with the church leaders—all the apostles and elders were present—and Paul and Barnabas reported on what God had been doing through their ministry. 5 But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood to their feet and declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow all the Jewish customs and ceremonies.
6 So the apostles and church elders set a further meeting to decide this question.
7 At the meeting, after long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you long ago to preach the Good News to the Gentiles so that they also could believe. 8 God, who knows men’s hearts, confirmed the fact that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he gave him to us. 9 He made no distinction between them and us, for he cleansed their lives through faith, just as he did ours. 10 And now are you going to correct God by burdening the Gentiles with a yoke that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? 11 Don’t you believe that all are saved the same way, by the free gift of the Lord Jesus?”
12 There was no further discussion, and everyone now listened as Barnabas and Paul told about the miracles God had done through them among the Gentiles.
13 When they had finished, James took the floor. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to bring honor to his name. 15 And this fact of Gentile conversion agrees with what the prophets predicted. For instance, listen to this passage from the prophet Amos:[a]
16 ‘Afterwards’ (says the Lord),[b] ‘I will return and renew the broken contract with David, 17 so that Gentiles, too, will find the Lord—all those marked with my name.’
18 That is what the Lord says, who reveals his plans made from the beginning.
19 “And so my judgment is that we should not insist that the Gentiles who turn to God must obey our Jewish laws, 20 except that we should write to them to refrain from eating meat sacrificed to idols, from all fornication, and also from eating unbled meat of strangled animals. 21 For these things have been preached against in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”
22 Then the apostles and elders and the whole congregation voted to send delegates to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas.
23 This is the letter they took along with them:
“From: The apostles, elders and brothers at Jerusalem.
“To: The Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. Greetings!
24 “We understand that some believers from here have upset you and questioned your salvation,[c] but they had no such instructions from us. 25 So it seemed wise to us, having unanimously agreed on our decision, to send to you these two official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. 26 These men—Judas and Silas, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ—will confirm orally what we have decided concerning your question.
27-29 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden of Jewish laws on you than to abstain from eating food offered to idols and from unbled meat of strangled animals,[d] and, of course, from fornication. If you do this, it is enough. Farewell.”
30 The four messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the Christians and gave them the letter. 31 And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read it.
32 Then Judas and Silas, both being gifted speakers,[e] preached long sermons to the believers, strengthening their faith. 33 They stayed several days,[f] and then Judas and Silas returned to Jerusalem taking greetings and appreciation to those who had sent them. 34-35 Paul and Barnabas stayed on at Antioch to assist several others who were preaching and teaching there.
36 Several days later Paul suggested to Barnabas that they return again to Turkey and visit each city where they had preached before,[g] to see how the new converts were getting along. 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul didn’t like that idea at all, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. 39 Their disagreement over this was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus, 40-41 while Paul chose Silas and, with the blessing of the believers, left for Syria and Cilicia to encourage the churches there.
Footnotes
- Acts 15:15 from the prophet Amos, implied; see Amos 9:11-12.
- Acts 15:16 says the Lord, implied. renew the broken contract with David, literally, “rebuild the tabernacle of David which is fallen.”
- Acts 15:24 questioned your salvation, literally, “subverted your souls.”
- Acts 15:27 and from unbled meat of strangled animals, literally, “and from blood.”
- Acts 15:32 gifted speakers, or “prophets.”
- Acts 15:33 stayed several days, literally, “spent some time.”
- Acts 15:36 return again to Turkey and visit each city where they had preached before, implied; literally, “return now and visit every city wherein we proclaimed the word of the Lord.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.