Acts 15:13–21

¹³When they had finished speaking, James spoke up: “Listen to me, my brothers and sisters! ¹⁴Simon has just explained how God first showed his care for the Gentiles by taking from among them a people to belong to him. ¹⁵The words of the prophets agree completely with this. As the scripture says:

^16*‘After this I will return, says the Lord,

and restore the kingdom of David.

I will rebuild its ruins

and make it strong again.

^17*And so all the rest of the human race will come to me,

all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own.

^18*So says the Lord, who made this known long ago.’

¹⁹“It is my opinion,” James went on, “that we should not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God. ^20*Instead, we should write a letter telling them not to eat any food that is ritually unclean because it has been offered to idols; to keep themselves from sexual immorality; and not to eat any animal that has been strangled, or any blood. ²¹For the Law of Moses has been read for a very long time in the synagogues every Sabbath, and his words are preached in every town.”