Acts 15–16

Dispute in Antioch

15Some men ^ucame down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised ^vaccording to the custom prescribed by Moses, ^wyou cannot be saved!” ²But after Paul and Barnabas had engaged them in serious argument and debate, the church arranged for Paul and Barnabas and some others of them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this controversy. ^x3When they had been sent on their way by the church, ^ythey passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, explaining in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they created great joy among all the brothers.

⁴When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. ^z5But some of the believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses!”

The Jerusalem Council

⁶Then the apostles and the elders assembled to consider this matter. ⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you are aware that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^athat by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. ⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving ^bthe Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us. ^c9He made no distinction between us and them, ^dcleansing their hearts by faith. ^e10Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks ^fthat neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹On the contrary, we believe we are saved through the grace ^gof the Lord Jesus in the same way they are.”

¹²Then the whole assembly fell silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ^h13After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me! ¹⁴Simeon ⁱhas reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for His name. ^j15And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

¹⁶After these things I will return

and rebuild David’s fallen tent.

I will rebuild its ruins

and set it up again,

¹⁷so the rest of humanity

may seek the Lord—

even all the Gentiles

who are called by My name,

declares the Lord who does these things,

¹⁸known from long ago. ^klm

¹⁹Therefore, in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God, ²⁰but instead we should write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, ⁿfrom eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. ²¹For since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.” ^o

The Letter to the Gentile Believers

²²Then the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, decided to select men who were among them and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, called Barsabbas, and Silas, ^pboth leading men among the brothers. ²³They wrote this letter to be delivered by them: ^q

From the apostles and the elders, your brothers,

To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: ^r

Greetings.

²⁴Because we have heard that some without our authorization went out from us ^sand troubled you with their words and unsettled your hearts, ^tu25we have unanimously ^vdecided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶who have risked their lives ^wfor the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who will personally report the same things by word of mouth. ^x28For it was the Holy Spirit’s decision—and ours—to put no greater burden on you than these necessary things: ^y29that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. ^zYou will do well if you keep yourselves from these things.

Farewell.

The Outcome of the Jerusalem Letter

³⁰Then, being sent off, they went down to Antioch, and after gathering the assembly, they delivered the letter. ³¹When they read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. ³²Both Judas and Silas, who were also prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers and strengthened them with a long message. ^a33After spending some time there, they were sent back in peace ^bby the brothers to those who had sent them. ^cd35But Paul and Barnabas, along with many others, remained in Antioch teaching and proclaiming the message of the Lord. ^e

Paul and Barnabas Part Company

³⁶After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers in every town ^fwhere we have preached the message of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark. ^g38But Paul did not think it appropriate to take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. ³⁹There was such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark ^hwith him and sailed off to Cyprus. ⁴⁰Then Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers. ⁱ⁴¹He traveled through Syria ^jand Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

Paul Selects Timothy

16Then he went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, ^kthe son of a believing Jewish woman, ^lbut his father was a Greek. ²The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. ^m3Paul wanted Timothy ⁿto go with him, so he took him and circumcised ^ohim because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek. ⁴As they traveled through the towns, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for them to observe. ^p5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily. ^q

Evangelization of Europe

⁶They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia and were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in Asia. ^r7When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus ^sdid not allow them. ⁸So, bypassing Mysia, they came down to Troas. ^t9During the night a vision appeared to Paul: A Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!” ^u10After ^vhe had seen the vision, we ^wimmediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to evangelize them.

Lydia’s Conversion

¹¹Then, setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, ¹²and from there to Philippi, ^xa Roman colony, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for a number of days. ¹³On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there. ¹⁴A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was spoken by Paul. ^y15After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” ^zAnd she persuaded us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

¹⁶Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction. ^abShe made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. ¹⁷As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you ^cthe way of salvation, are the slaves of the Most High God.” ¹⁸And she did this for many days.

But Paul was greatly aggravated and turning to the spirit, said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away. ^de

¹⁹When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas ^fand dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. ²⁰Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews ²¹and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.” ^g

²²Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. ^h23After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. ²⁴Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. ⁱ

A Midnight Deliverance

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. ^j27When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

²⁸But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because all of us are here!”

²⁹Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ^k

³¹So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” ^l32Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. ³³He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household. ^m

An Official Apology

³⁵When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men!”

³⁶The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.” ⁿ

³⁷But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to smuggle us out…