Acts 15:22–32

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, ²³with the following letter: ^x“The brothers, both ^uthe apostles and the elders, to the brothers³ who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^ygreetings. ²⁴Since we have heard that ^zsome persons have gone out from us and ^atroubled you⁴ with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, ²⁵it has seemed good to us, having come ^bto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^cbeloved Barnabas and Paul, ^26dmen who have ^erisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷We have therefore sent ^fJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. ²⁸For it has seemed good ^gto the Holy Spirit and ^hto us ⁱto lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: ^29jthat you abstain from ^kwhat 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.”

³⁰So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. ³¹And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. ³²And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^lprophets, encouraged and ^mstrengthened ⁿthe brothers with many words.