Chronological
15 1 And certain ones having come down from Judea were teaching the brothers that “Unless you are circumcised by the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved”. 2 And no small dispute and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them having taken place, they[a] appointed[b] Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue. 3 So indeed the ones, having been sent-forward by the church, were going through both Phoenicia and Samaria describing-in-detail the conversion[c] of the Gentiles. And they were producing great joy in all the brothers. 4 And having arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders. And they reported all-that God did with them. 5 But some of the ones from the sect of the Pharisees having believed[d] stood-up-out-of the assembly, saying that “It-is-necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the Law of Moses”.
Peter Says That Both Jews And Gentiles Are Saved By Grace And Faith, Not By The Law
6 And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this matter. 7 And much debate having taken place, Peter, having stood up, said to them, “Men, brothers, you know that from the old[e] days God made-a-choice among you that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of the good-news and believe. 8 And God, the heart-knower, testified[f]— having given the Holy Spirit to them, just as also to us. 9 And He made no distinction between both us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Therefore[g] why are you now testing God by laying a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 Rather, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in accordance with the way those also are saved ”.
James Quotes The Prophets To Show That It Is God’s Plan To Save The Gentiles
12 And the whole assembly was silent. And they were listening-to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders that God did through them among the Gentiles. 13 And after they were silent, James responded, saying, “Men, brothers, listen-to me. 14 Simeon[h] described how God first visited to take a people for His name from the Gentiles. 15 And the words of the prophets agree with this, just as it has been written [in Amos 9:11-12]: 16 ‘After these things I will return and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David. And I will rebuild its things having been torn-down. And I will restore it 17 so that the rest of mankind may seek-out the Lord— even all the Gentiles upon whom My name has been called-upon them[i]’, says the Lord doing these things 18 known from the past age. 19 Therefore I judge that we not be troubling the ones from the Gentiles turning to God, 20 but that we write to them that they should be abstaining from the contaminated[j] things of idols, and sexual-immorality, and the strangled[k] thing, and blood. 21 For from ancient generations, Moses has the ones proclaiming him in each city— being read in the synagogues every Sabbath”.
A Letter Is Sent To Clear Up The Issue And Encourage The Gentile Believers
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, along with the whole church, that having chosen men from-among them they should send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas— Judas (the one being called Barsabbas) and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 having written by their hand:
“The apostles and the elders, your brothers, to the brothers from the Gentiles throughout Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 Because we heard that some having gone out from us disturbed you with words, unsettling your souls— to whom we did not give-orders— 25 it seemed good to us, having become of-one-accord, having chosen men, that we should send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul— 26 men[l] having handed-over their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent-forth Judas and Silas; they also will be declaring the same things by spoken word. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to be laying-on you no greater burden except these essentials[m]: 29 that you be abstaining from foods-sacrificed-to-idols, and blood, and strangled things, and sexual immorality; keeping yourselves from which things, you will do well. Farewell”.
30 So indeed the ones, having been sent-away, went down to Antioch. And having gathered together the multitude, they delivered the letter. 31 And having read it, they rejoiced over the encouragement. 32 Both Judas and Silas, also themselves being prophets, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long[n] message. 33 And having done time there, they were sent-away with greetings of peace from the brothers to the ones having sent them out. 34 [o]
Paul And Barnabas Plan a Second Missionary Journey From Antioch, But Split Over John Mark
35 Now Paul and Barnabas were spending-time in Antioch, teaching and announcing-as-good-news the word of the Lord, along with many others also. 36 And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, “Having returned, let us now visit the brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord to see how they are having[p] things”. 37 And Barnabas was wanting to also take along John with them, the one being called Mark. 38 But Paul was considering-it-fitting that they not be taking-along-with them this one having withdrawn[q] from them since Pamphylia, and not having gone with them to the work. 39 And a disagreement took-place, so that they were separated from one another. And Barnabas, having taken along Mark, sailed-off to Cyprus[r].
Paul And Silas Revisit The Churches From Paul’s First Journey. Timothy Joins Them
40 And Paul, having chosen[s] Silas[t], went forth, having been handed-over to the grace of the Lord by the brothers. 41 And he was going[u] through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. 16 1 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there— Timothy by name, the son of a believing Jewish woman[v], but of a Greek father— 2 who was being attested by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this one to go forth with him. And having taken him, he circumcised him because of the Jews being in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 And as they were proceeding through the cities, they were delivering[w] to them the decrees[x] to be keeping[y] having been determined[z] by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So indeed the churches were being made-firm in the faith and were abounding in number daily.
Paul Sees a Vision of a Macedonian Asking For His Help, And Makes Plans To Go
6 And they went through the Phrygian[aa] and Galatian region, having been forbidden[ab] by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And having come opposite Mysia, they were trying to proceed into Bithynia and the Spirit of [ac] Jesus did not allow them. 8 And having passed-by[ad] Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul during the night— a certain Macedonian man[ae] was standing and appealing-to him, and saying, “Having crossed to Macedonia, help us”. 10 And when he saw the vision, immediately we[af] sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to announce-the-good-news-to them.
In Philippi, Paul Meets Lydia And She Becomes a Believer
11 And having put-to-sea from Troas, we ran-a-straight-course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis. 12 And from there we went to Philippi, which is a city of the first[ag] district of Macedonia, a colony[ah]. And we were spending some days in this city. 13 And on the day of the Sabbath, we went outside the gate beside a river where we were supposing that there was a place of prayer[ai]. And having sat-down, we were speaking to the women having come together. 14 And a certain woman worshiping God— Lydia by name, a purple-fabric-dealer from the city of Thyatira— was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to pay-attention-to the things being spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be a believer[aj] in the Lord, then having entered into my house, be staying with me”. And she prevailed-upon us.
Paul Casts a Demon Out of a Fortune-Telling Servant-Girl
16 And it came about while we were going to the place of prayer that a certain servant-girl having a soothsaying[ak] spirit met us, who was bringing-about a large profit to her masters telling-fortunes. 17 This one, while closely-following Paul and us[al], was crying-out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most-High God[am], who are proclaiming to you a way[an] of salvation”. 18 And she was doing this for many days. And Paul, having been greatly-annoyed, and having turned to the spirit, said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to depart from her!” And it went out at the very hour.
The Girl’s Masters Have Paul And Silas Beaten And Imprisoned
19 And her masters, having seen that their hope of profit went-out, having taken-hold-of Paul and Silas, dragged them into the marketplace[ao] before the rulers. 20 And having brought them to the magistrates[ap], they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews. 21 And they are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to be accepting nor to be doing, being Romans”. 22 And the crowd rose up together against them. And the magistrates, having torn-off their[aq] garments, were giving-orders to beat them with rods[ar]. 23 And having laid many blows on them, they threw them into prison, having commanded the jailer to keep them securely— 24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and secured their feet to the wood[as].
After an Earthquake Opens The Jail, The Jailer Believes And Is Baptized
25 And about midnight Paul and Silas were singing-praise-to God while praying. And the prisoners were listening-to[at] them. 26 And suddenly a great earthquake took place, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken. And at-once all the doors were opened, and the bonds[au] of everyone were unfastened[av]. 27 And the jailer— having become awakened, and having seen the doors of the prison having been opened, having drawn his sword— was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul called-out with a loud voice, saying, “Do no harm to yourself, for we are all here”. 29 And having asked-for lights, he rushed-in. And having become trembling, he fell before Paul and Silas. 30 And having brought them outside, he said, “Sirs, what must I do in order that I may be saved?” 31 And the ones said, “Put faith upon the Lord Jesus and you will be saved— you and your household”. 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all the ones in his house. 33 And having taken them at that hour of the night, he washed off their wounds. And he was baptized at-once— he and all his household. 34 And having led them up to his house, he set a table before them and rejoiced-greatly— having believed in God with-his-whole-household.
The Magistrates Release Paul And Silas After Learning They Are Roman Citizens
35 And having become day, the magistrates sent forth their officers[aw], saying, “Release those men”. 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, that “The magistrates have sent forth in order that you may be released. Now therefore having come out, proceed in peace”. 37 But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public— uncondemned[ax] men being Romans[ay]— they threw us into prison. And now they are throwing us out secretly? No indeed! But having come themselves, let them lead us out!” 38 And the officers reported these words to the magistrates. And having heard that they were Romans, they became afraid. 39 And having come, they appealed-to them. And having led them out, they were asking them to depart from the city. 40 And having gone forth from the prison, they went-in[az] to Lydia. And having seen the brothers[ba], they encouraged them, and went forth.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing