Acts 15:12–22

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

^16j“ ‘After this I will return,

and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;

I will rebuild its ruins,

and I will restore it,

¹⁷that the remnant² of mankind ^kmay seek the Lord,

and all the Gentiles ^lwho are called by my name,

says the Lord, who makes these things ^18mknown from of old.’

¹⁹Therefore ⁿmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^oturn to God, ²⁰but should write to them ^pto abstain from ^qthe things polluted by idols, and from ^rsexual immorality, and from ^swhat has been strangled, and from ^sblood. ²¹For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^tfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

²²Then it seemed good to ^uthe 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 ^vBarsabbas, and ^wSilas, leading men among ^xthe brothers,