Acts 15:1–18

The Council at Jerusalem

^1aSome men came down from Judea and began teaching ^bthe brethren, “Unless you are ^ccircumcised according to ^dthe custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

²And when Paul and Barnabas had ¹great dissension and ^adebate with them, ^bthe brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the ^capostles and elders concerning this issue.

³Therefore, being ^asent on their way by the church, they were passing through both ^bPhoenicia and Samaria, ^cdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all ^dthe brethren.

⁴When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and ^athe apostles and the elders, and they ^breported all that God had done with them.

⁵But some of ^athe sect of the ^bPharisees who had believed stood up, saying, “It is necessary to ^ccircumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.”

^6aThe apostles and the elders came together to ¹look into this ²matter.

⁷After there had been much ^adebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that ¹in the early days ^bGod made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of ^cthe gospel and believe.

⁸“And God, ^awho knows the heart, testified to them ^bgiving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

⁹and ^aHe made no distinction between us and them, ^bcleansing their hearts by faith.

¹⁰“Now therefore why do you ^aput God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which ^bneither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

¹¹“But we believe that we are saved through ^athe grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”

¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were ^arelating what ^bsigns and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

James’s Judgment

¹³After they had stopped speaking, ^1aJames answered, saying, “Brethren, listen to me.

¹⁴“^aSimeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

¹⁵“With this the words of ^athe Prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁶‘^aAfter these things ^bI will return,

And I will rebuild the ¹tabernacle of David which has fallen,

And I will rebuild its ruins,

And I will restore it,

^17aSo that the rest of ¹mankind may seek the Lord,

And all the Gentiles ^2bwho are called by My name,’

^18aSays the Lord, who ^1bmakes these things known from long ago.