Acts 15
Worldwide English (New Testament)
15 Some men came from Judea and taught the Christian brothers. They said, `You must be circumcised with the mark made on your body in the way Moses taught us. If you are not circumcised you cannot be saved.'
2 Paul and Barnabas did not agree with them. There was much talking about it. Then they decided that Paul and Barnabas and some of the other men should go to Jerusalem. They would ask the apostles and church leaders there about it.
3 So the church people sent them on their way. They passed through the districts of Phoenicia and Samaria. They told them that some who were not Jews were believing in God. This news made all the Christian brothers very happy.
4 When they reached Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church people, the apostles, and the church leaders. They told all that God had done as he worked with them.
5 But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisee group stood up and said, `They must be circumcised [like the Jews]. We must tell them to keep all the laws of Moses.'
6 The apostles and the church leaders met together to talk the matter over.
7 After much talking about it, Peter stood up. He said, `Men and brothers, you know what happened in the first days. God chose me to tell the good news to those who are not Jews. They believed.
8 God knows what is in a person's heart. He proved that they believed. He gave them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us.
9 God made no difference between them and us. He made their hearts clean when they believed.
10 So now why are you doing what God did not do? You give the disciples a hard thing to do. Our fathers could not do it. And we cannot do it.
11 We believe that the Lord Jesus saves us because he is kind. And that is why he saves them.'
12 Then all the people stopped talking. They listened to what Paul and Barnabas had to say. They told them about all the signs and wonderful things that God had helped them to do among the people who were not Jews.
13 When they had finished talking, James said, `Men and brothers, listen to me.
14 Simeon has told us how God came the first time to the people who are not Jews. God chose some of them to belong to him and be his people.
15 This is what the prophets of God said long ago.
16 They said, "After this, I will come back and build up again the house of David which has fallen down. I will take the broken pieces and build a house again.
17 Then all the other people will find God, even those who are not Jews but who belong to me. So says the Lord, who is doing all these things."
18 `He told us these things long ago.
19 So now, this is what I think. We should not trouble those who are not Jews but who have turned to God.
20 We should write them a letter and tell them what they must not do. They must not eat food that has been given to idols. They must not have sex with someone who is not their husband or wife. They must not eat the meat of animals that are killed by choking. They must not taste blood.
21 Since the times of long ago there have been men who told about Moses in every city. They read his laws in the meeting places every Sabbath day.'
22 Then the apostles, and the leaders, and all the church people chose men from among themselves. They sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, whose other name was Barsabbas, and Silas. They were leaders among the Christian brothers.
23 They sent a letter with them. It said, `The apostles, the church leaders, and the Christian brothers send greetings to the Christians who are not Jews in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
24 We have heard that some of our people visited you and talked to you. They taught things that troubled you and made you believe wrong things. They said, "You must be circumcised like the Jews and keep the law." We did not tell them to teach you this.
25 All of us gathered here have chosen some men. We are sending them with our dear brothers, Barnabas and Paul.
26 Barnabas and Paul have been willing to die for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 We are sending Judas and Silas. They will tell you the same things that we have written in the letter.
28 The Holy Spirit and we thought it was not good to give you a hard thing to do. But here is what you must not do.
29 You must not eat food that has been given to idols. You must not eat the meat of animals that are killed by choking. You must not taste blood. You must not commit adultery. If you keep away from these things, you will do well. Goodbye.'
30 So the men left and went to Antioch. There they called the people together and gave them the letter.
31 When the people read the letter, they were very glad. It helped them to become stronger in what they believed.
32 Judas and Silas were prophets. They said many things to the Christian brothers and helped them to believe more strongly.
33 They stayed there for a while. Then the brothers sent them back to those who had sent them. They sent a greeting of peace with them.
34 But Silas thought it was good to stay at Antioch.
35 Paul and Barnabas stayed there too. They taught the people and told them the Lord's message. Many other men did this also.
36 Some days later, Paul said to Barnabas, `Let us go back and visit the brothers in every city where we have told the Lord's message. Let us see how they are doing.'
37 Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them.
38 But Paul did not think that they should take him. John Mark had left them when they were at Pamphylia. He had not gone along with them to do the work.
39 The feeling about this matter was very strong between Barnabas and Paul, so they did not go together. Barnabas took Mark and went in a boat to Cyprus.
40 Paul chose Silas. The Christian brothers asked the Lord to bless Paul. Then he went on his way.
41 Paul travelled through Syria and Cilicia. He helped the church people to believe more strongly.
Acts 15
EasyEnglish Bible
Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem
15 Some men arrived in Antioch from Judea.[a] They began to teach the believers there who were not Jews. They said to them, ‘God cannot save you unless someone circumcises you. This is in the Law that God gave to Moses.’
2 Paul and Barnabas did not agree with these men. They argued strongly against them. As a result, the believers in Antioch decided what to do. They chose Paul, Barnabas and some of the other believers to go to Jerusalem. They should go to meet with the apostles and the other leaders of the believers. The leaders should decide who was right in this quarrel. 3 The group of believers at Antioch sent Paul, Barnabas and the other men on their way. They travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria. They spoke to the believers in those places. They told them, ‘Gentiles are also turning to God and they are believing in Jesus.’ The believers were all very happy to hear this news. 4 When Paul, Barnabas and the other men arrived in Jerusalem, they met with the believers there. The apostles, the other leaders and the whole group of believers were happy to see them. Paul and Barnabas told them about everything that God had helped them to do.
5 Some Jewish believers were there who also belonged to the Pharisees' group. They stood up and they said, ‘We must circumcise Gentiles when they become believers. We must tell them to obey all the Law that God gave to Moses.’
6 So the apostles and the other leaders of the believers met to talk about this problem. 7 After they had all talked about this problem for a long time, Peter stood up to speak.[b] He said, ‘My friends, you know that, a long time ago, God chose me from among all you leaders. He wanted me to teach Gentiles the good news about Jesus. God wanted them to hear his message and to believe in Jesus. 8 God knows what people truly believe. He showed clearly that he accepts Gentile believers as his people. He gave his Holy Spirit to them in the same way that he did for us. 9 He made no difference between them and us. When they believed in Jesus, he saved them. He made them clean inside.
10 So do not say that God has done a wrong thing. God has shown us that he accepts Gentiles when they believe in Jesus. If you make the Gentile believers obey the Law of Moses, that is like a heavy weight on their necks. Even we Jews and our ancestors could not carry that heavy weight. 11 God saves us who are Jews when we believe in Jesus. It is not because we obey the Law of Moses. It is because the Lord Jesus is kind to us. God saves Gentiles in the same way, when they believe in Jesus.’
12 After Peter said this everybody in the group was quiet. Then Barnabas and Paul spoke to them. They said, ‘God helped us to do great miracles among the Gentiles. These showed that God was with us.’
13 When they had finished their report, James spoke to the group. He said, ‘Listen to me, my friends. 14 Simon Peter has just described to us what happened first with the Gentile believers. He explained how God chose some of them to belong to him as his own people.
15 The message of God's prophets agrees completely with this. They wrote long ago:
16 The Lord God said,
“Later I will return.
At that time I will make David's kingdom strong again.[c]
It has become like a house that has fallen down,
but I will build it again so that it is strong.
17 Then many other people will want to know me, the Lord God.
Those are the Gentiles that I have chosen to belong to me.
I, the Lord God, say this,
and I will make these things happen.
18 Long ago I caused people to know all these things.” ’[d]
19 James then said, ‘So this is what I have decided about this problem. Many Gentiles are now turning to God as believers. We should not make it difficult for them. 20 Instead of that, we should write a letter to tell them how to live as believers. We should say to them, “Do not eat any food which people have given to their idols. That food has become unclean. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it.”[e] 21 These rules are important, because people have known the Law of Moses for a very long time. On every Jewish day of rest, someone teaches us about the Law in our Jewish meeting places in every city.’
The leaders in Jerusalem write a letter to the Gentile believers
22 The whole group of believers agreed with what James said. So the apostles and the other leaders decided to choose some men from among the group of believers. These men would go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas, who was also called Barsabbas. The believers all respected these men as leaders.
23 This is the letter that they sent with those men:
‘We, the apostles and leaders of the believers here say “hello” to you, our friends who also believe in Jesus. We say “hello” to all of you Gentile believers who live in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.[f]
24 We have heard that some men from our group have confused your thoughts. These men came to you and they taught you without our authority. The things that they said were not right and they have upset you. 25 So now we have all met together. We have agreed what to do about this problem. We have chosen some men to bring this message to you. They will travel with our good friends, Barnabas and Paul. 26 These two men have worked as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that, they have almost lost their lives. 27 So we are also sending Judas and Silas to you. They will tell you the same things that we have written in this letter. 28 The Holy Spirit has shown us what we should do. We also think that this is the right thing to do. We do not want to put a heavy weight on you. So these are the only rules that we want you to obey: 29 Do not eat any food that people have given to their idols. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If you obey these rules, you will do well. Goodbye.’
30 So the believers in Jerusalem sent these four men to go to Antioch. When they arrived there, they told the group of believers to meet together. When they all met, Silas and Judas gave them the letter. 31 When the believers in Antioch read the letter, they were very happy. They said, ‘This message will help us very much.’ 32 Judas and Silas were both prophets. They spoke a message from God to the believers there. They spoke for a long time to help the believers and to make them strong. 33 Judas and Silas remained in Antioch for some time. Then the group of believers sent them back to Jerusalem. The believers prayed that God would help them and take care of them. 34 [g] [But Silas decided to stay there.]
35 Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch for a longer time. Together with many other believers, they taught the people, and they spoke the message about the Lord Jesus.
36 After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, ‘We should go back to the towns where we already spoke the message about the Lord Jesus. Then we can visit the believers in all those places. We can see if they are doing well.’
37 Barnabas agreed and he wanted to take John Mark with them. 38 But Paul did not think that this was right. He said to Barnabas, ‘John Mark did not remain with us until we had finished our work. He left us when we were in Pamphylia.’
39 Paul and Barnabas argued strongly about this. They could not agree, so they went in different directions. Barnabas took John Mark with him and they sailed to Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas to go with him. The believers in Antioch asked the Lord God to take care of Paul and Silas. 41 They travelled through Syria and Cilicia. Paul taught the believers in those regions. He helped them to be strong and to trust Jesus.
Footnotes
- 15:1 These men were Jewish believers.
- 15:7 Peter was one of the apostles.
- 15:16 Jesus was a descendant of King David.
- 15:18 See Amos 9:11-12.
- 15:20 We can read about these rules in Leviticus 18:6-23; 17:10-12.
- 15:23 Antioch was a city, but Syria and Cilicia were regions.
- 15:34 Many Bibles leave out Acts 15:34.
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