15And some men came down from Judea and^* began teaching^* the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.” ²And after^* there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue. ³So they were sent on their way by the church, and^* passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. ⁴And when they^* arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and reported all that God had done with them. ⁵But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them^* to observe the law of Moses!”

⁶Both the apostles and the elders assembled to deliberate concerning this matter. ⁷And after^* there was much debate, Peter stood up and^* said to them, “Men and brothers, you know that in the early days^a God chose among you through my mouth that the Gentiles should hear the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by^* giving them^* the Holy Spirit, just as he also did to us. ⁹And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. ¹⁰So now why are you putting God to the test by^* placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹But we believe we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same^b way those also are.” ¹²And the whole group became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, “Men and brothers, listen to me! ¹⁴Simeon has described how God first concerned himself to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name. ¹⁵And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

¹⁶‘After these things I will return

and build up again the tent of David that has fallen,

and the parts of it that had been torn down I will build up again

and will restore it,

¹⁷so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord,

even all the Gentiles^c who are called by my name,^d

says the Lord,^e who makes these things ¹⁸known from of old.’^f

Read in Logos

Acts 15:10: Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

Footnotes

*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came down”) has been translated as a finite verb
*The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began teaching”)
*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was”)
*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“were sent on their way”) has been translated as a finite verb
*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“arrived”) which is understood as temporal
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was”)
*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“stood up”) has been translated as a finite verb
aOr “from ancient days”
*Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“giving”) which is understood as means
*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
*Here “by” is supplied as a component of the infinitive (“placing”) which is understood as means
bLiterally “which”
cThe same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context
dLiterally “on whom my name has been called on them”
eA quotation from Amos 9:11–12
fThe last phrase of v. 17 and all of v. 18 is an allusion to Isa 45:21