Acts 15

And ^acertain men which came down from Judea taught ^bthe brethren, and said, ^cExcept ye be circumcised ^dafter the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. ²When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^edisputation with them, they determined that ^fPaul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should ^ggo up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and ^helders about this question. ³And ⁱbeing brought on their way by the church, they passed through ^kPhenice and ^lSamaria, ^mdeclaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all ^bthe brethren. ⁴And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were ⁿreceived of the church, and of the apostles and ^helders, and they ^odeclared all things that God had done with them. ⁵But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, ^cThat it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

⁶And the apostles and ^helders came together for to consider of this matter. ⁷And when there had been much ^edisputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that ^pa good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. ⁸And God, ^qwhich knoweth the hearts, ^rbare them witness, ^sgiving them the Holy Ghost, ^teven as he did unto us; ⁹and ^uput no difference between us and them, ^xpurifying their hearts ^yby faith. ¹⁰Now therefore why ^ztempt ye God, ^ato put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹But we believe that ^bthrough the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. ¹²Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, ^cdeclaring what ^dmiracles and wonders ^eGod had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

¹³And after they had held their peace, ^fJames answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: ^14gSimeon ^hhath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. ¹⁵And to this agree the words of ⁱthe prophets; as it is written, ¹⁶After this I will return, and ^kwill build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: ¹⁷that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. ¹⁸Known unto God are all his works ^lfrom the beginning of the world. ¹⁹Wherefore ^mmy sentence is, that we ⁿtrouble not them, which from among the Gentiles ^oare turned to God: ²⁰but that we write unto them, that they abstain from ^ppollutions of idols, and from ^qfornication, and from ^rthings strangled, and from ^rblood. ²¹For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, ^sbeing read in the synagogues every sabbath day.

²²Then pleased it the apostles and ^telders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to ^uAntioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed ^xBarsabas, and ^ySilas, ^zchief men among ^athe brethren: ²³and they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and ^telders and ^abrethren ^bsend greeting unto the ^abrethren which are of the Gentiles in ^uAntioch and ^cSyria and ^cdCilicia: ²⁴Forasmuch as we have heard, that ^ecertain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: ^25fit seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶men ^gthat have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷We have sent therefore ^hJudas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. ²⁸For ^fiit seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; ²⁹that ye abstain from ^kmeats offered to idols, and from ^lblood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. ^mFare ye well.

³⁰So when they were dismissed, they came to ⁿAntioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: ³¹which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. ³²And ^hJudas and Silas, being ^oprophets also themselves, ^pexhorted the brethren with many words, and ^qconfirmed them. ³³And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go ^rin peace from the brethren unto the apostles. ³⁴Notwithstanding it pleased ^sSilas to abide there still. ^35tPaul also and Barnabas continued in ⁿAntioch, teaching and ^upreaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren ^xin every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. ³⁷And Barnabas determined to take with them ^yJohn, whose surname was Mark. ³⁸But Paul thought not good to take him with them, ^zwho departed from them from ^aPamphylia, and went not with them to the work. ³⁹And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so ^bBarnabas took ^yMark, and sailed unto ^cCyprus; ⁴⁰and Paul chose ^dSilas, and departed, being ^erecommended by the brethren unto ^fthe grace of God. ⁴¹And he went through ^gSyria and Cilicia, ^hconfirming the churches.

XVI.