¹⁹“Now here is my opinion. We should not make it hard for the non-Jews who are turning to God. ²⁰Here is what we should write to them. They must not eat food polluted by being offered to statues of gods. They must not commit sexual sins. They must not eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And they must not drink blood. ²¹These laws of Moses have been preached in every city from the earliest times. They are read out loud in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”

A Letter Is Written to Non-Jewish Believers

²²Then the apostles, the elders and the whole church decided what to do. They would choose some of their own men. They would send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. So they chose two leaders among the believers. Their names were Judas Barsabbas and Silas. ²³Here is the letter they sent with them.

The apostles and elders, your brothers, are writing this letter.

We are sending it to the non-Jewish believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.

Greetings.

²⁴We have heard that some of our people came to you and caused trouble. You were upset by what they said. But we had given them no authority to go. ²⁵So we all agreed to send our dear friends Barnabas and Paul to you. We chose some others to go with them. ²⁶Barnabas and Paul have put their lives in danger for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷So we are sending Judas and Silas with them. What they say will agree with this letter.

²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to give you a load that is too heavy. So here are a few basic rules. ²⁹Don’t eat food that has been offered to statues of gods. Don’t drink blood. Don’t eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And don’t commit sexual sins. You will do well to keep away from these things.

Farewell.

³⁰The men were sent down to Antioch. There they gathered the church together. They gave the letter to them. ³¹The people read it. They were glad for its message of hope. ³²Judas and Silas were prophets. They said many things to give strength and hope to the believers. ^33/34Judas and Silas stayed there for some time. Then the believers sent them away with the blessing of peace. They sent them back to those who had sent them out.

³⁵Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch. There they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Paul and Barnabas Do Not Agree

³⁶Some time later Paul spoke to Barnabas. “Let’s go back to all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord,” he said. “Let’s visit the believers and see how they are doing.” ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them. ³⁸But Paul didn’t think it was wise to take him. Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. He hadn’t continued with them in their work. ³⁹Barnabas and Paul strongly disagreed with each other. So they went their separate ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus. ⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas. The believers asked the Lord to give his grace to Paul and Silas as they went. ⁴¹Paul traveled through Syria and Cilicia. He gave strength to the churches there.

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