Acts 15:1–41

The Council at Jerusalem

15Certain people^k came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:^l “Unless you are circumcised,^m according to the custom taught by Moses,ⁿ you cannot be saved.” ²This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem^o to see the apostles and elders^p about this question. ³The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia^q and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.^r This news made all the believers very glad. ⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.^s

⁵Then some of the believers who belonged to the party^t of the Pharisees^u stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”^v

⁶The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.^{w 8}God, who knows the heart,^x showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,^y just as he did to us. ⁹He did not discriminate between us and them,^z for he purified their hearts by faith.^{a 10}Now then, why do you try to test God^b by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke^c that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹No! We believe it is through the grace^d of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

¹²The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders^e God had done among the Gentiles through them.^{f 13}When they finished, James^g spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. ¹⁴Simon^a has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.^{h 15}The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

¹⁶“ ‘After this I will return

and rebuild David’s fallen tent.

Its ruins I will rebuild,

and I will restore it,

¹⁷that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,

even all the Gentiles who bear my name,

says the Lord, who does these things’^bi—

¹⁸things known from long ago.^cj

¹⁹“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,^k from sexual immorality,^l from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.^{m 21}For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”ⁿ

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

²²Then the apostles and elders,^o with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch^p with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,^q men who were leaders among the believers. ²³With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch,^r Syria^s and Cilicia:^t

Greetings.^u

²⁴We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.^{v 25}So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—²⁶men who have risked their lives^w for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas^x to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. ²⁸It seemed good to the Holy Spirit^y and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.^z You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

³⁰So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³²Judas and Silas,^a who themselves were prophets,^b said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. ³³After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace^c to return to those who had sent them. ^{[34]d 35}But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached^d the word of the Lord.^e

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

³⁶Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns^f where we preached the word of the Lord^g and see how they are doing.” ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,^h with them, ³⁸but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted themⁱ in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰but Paul chose Silas^j and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.^{k 41}He went through Syria^l and Cilicia,^m strengthening the churches.ⁿ