Conflict over Circumcision

15 And (A)certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, (B)“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that (C)Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

So, (D)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, (E)describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

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The Jerusalem Council

15 And some men came down from Judea and[a] began teaching[b] the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after[c] there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue. So they were sent on their way by the church, and[d] passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. And when they[e] arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and reported all that God had done with them. But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them[f] to observe the law of Moses!”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 15:1 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came down”) has been translated as a finite verb
  2. Acts 15:1 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began teaching”)
  3. Acts 15:2 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was”)
  4. Acts 15:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“were sent on their way”) has been translated as a finite verb
  5. Acts 15:4 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“arrived”) which is understood as temporal
  6. Acts 15:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation