Acts 15:19–41

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.”

The Letter to the Gentile Believers

²²Then the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, decided to choose some men from the group and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose two men who were highly respected by the believers, Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, ²³and they sent the following letter by them:

“We, the apostles and the elders, your brothers, send greetings to all our brothers of Gentile birth who live in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. ²⁴We have heard that some who went from our group have troubled and upset you by what they said; they had not, however, received any instruction from us. ²⁵And so we have met together and have all agreed to choose some messengers and send them to you. They will go with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶who have risked their lives in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷We send you, then, Judas and Silas, who will tell you in person the same things we are writing. ²⁸The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on you besides these necessary rules: ²⁹eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from sexual immorality. You will do well if you take care not to do these things. With our best wishes.”

³⁰The messengers were sent off and went to Antioch, where they gathered the whole group of believers and gave them the letter. ³¹When the people read it, they were filled with joy by the message of encouragement. ³²Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, spoke a long time with them, giving them courage and strength. ³³After spending some time there, they were sent off in peace by the believers and went back to those who had sent them.^v

³⁵Paul and Barnabas spent some time in Antioch, and together with many others they taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

³⁶Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit our brothers and sisters in every town where we preached the word of the Lord, and let us find out how they are getting on.” ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, ^38*but Paul did not think it was right to take him, because he had not stayed with them to the end of their mission, but had turned back and left them in Pamphylia. ³⁹There was a sharp argument, and they separated: Barnabas took Mark and sailed off for Cyprus, ⁴⁰while Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the care of the Lord’s grace. ⁴¹He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.