A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

²² “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, ^23 (A)his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for ^(B)a hanged man is cursed by God. ^(C)You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Various Laws

22 “You ^(D)shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. ² And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. ³ And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. ^4 (E)You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.

⁵ “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, ^(F)for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.

⁶ “If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, ^(G)you shall not take the mother with the young. ⁷ You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, ^(H)that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.

⁸ “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.

The Jerusalem Council

15 ^(A)But some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^(B)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(C)circumcised ^(D)according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” ² And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^(E)debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^(F)some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^(G)the apostles and the elders about this question. ³ So, ^(H)being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^(I)describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^(J)brought great joy to all ^(K)the brothers.^{[a] 4 (L)}When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^(M)the apostles and the elders, and ^(N)they declared all that God had done with them. ⁵ But some believers who belonged to ^(O)the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^(P)“It is necessary ^(Q)to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

^6 (R)The ^(S)apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much ^(T)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^(U)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^(V)the word of ^(W)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(X)who knows the heart, ^(Y)bore witness to them, ^(Z)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and ^(AA)he made no distinction between us and them, ^(AB)having cleansed their hearts ^(AC)by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why ^(AD)are you putting God to the test ^(AE)by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^(AF)that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we ^(AG)believe that we will be ^(AH)saved through ^(AI)the grace of the Lord Jesus, ^(AJ)just as they will.”

¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^(AK)as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, ^(AL)James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (AM)Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^(AN)a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore ^(AS)my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^(AT)turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them ^(AU)to abstain from ^(AV)the things polluted by idols, and from ^(AW)sexual immorality, and from ^(AX)what has been strangled, and from ^(AY)blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^(AZ)for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

Miscellaneous Laws

^5 (A)“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year ^(B)to be happy with his wife^[a] whom he has taken.

⁶ “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

^7 (C)“If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he ^(D)treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. ^(E)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

⁸ “Take care, in ^(F)a case of leprous^[b] disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to ^(G)Miriam ^(H)on the way as you came out of Egypt.

¹⁰ “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. ¹¹ You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. ¹² And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. ^13 (I)You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and ^(J)bless you. And ^(K)it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

¹⁴ “You shall not ^(L)oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. ^15 (M)You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), ^(N)lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.

^16 (O)“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

^17 (P)“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, ^(Q)or take a widow's garment in pledge, ¹⁸ but ^(R)you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

^19 (S)“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, ^(T)that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ^22 (U)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers

²² Then it seemed good to ^(A)the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called ^(B)Barsabbas, and ^(C)Silas, leading men among ^(D)the brothers, ²³ with the following letter: ^(E)“The brothers, both ^(F)the apostles and the elders, to the brothers^[a] who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^(G)greetings. ²⁴ Since we have heard that ^(H)some persons have gone out from us and ^(I)troubled you^[b] with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, ²⁵ it has seemed good to us, having come ^(J)to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^(K)beloved Barnabas and Paul, ^26 (L)men who have ^(M)risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ We have therefore sent ^(N)Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸ For it has seemed good ^(O)to the Holy Spirit and ^(P)to us ^(Q)to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: ^29 (R)that you abstain from ^(S)what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

³⁰ So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹ And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. ³² And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^(T)prophets, encouraged and ^(U)strengthened ^(V)the brothers with many words. ³³ And after they had spent some time, they were sent off ^(W)in peace by ^(X)the brothers to those who had sent them.^{[c] 35} But ^(Y)Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.