Acts 15:19–41

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