New Testament in a Year
22 Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, thought it would be best to choose men from their group to send to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leading men among the brothers.
23 They wrote this letter for them to deliver:
From the apostles and the elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We heard that there were some who came from us without our authorization and caused you distress by unsettling your minds with what they said.[a] 25 So it seemed best to us, since we are of one mind, to choose some men to send to you, along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will report these same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to put no greater burden on you than these essentials: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully avoid these things, you will do well.
Farewell.
30 After they were sent on their way, they went down to Antioch. They gathered the congregation together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and rejoiced over its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, also said much that encouraged and strengthened the brothers. 33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the greeting of peace to those who had sent them.[b] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they, along with many others, kept on teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas Go Separate Ways
36 After a time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the[c] brothers[d] in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, who is called Mark, along with them. 38 But Paul did not think it was a good idea to take him along, since he had deserted them in Pamphylia and did not continue to travel with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and set out, after being entrusted to the grace of the Lord[e] by the brothers. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.