Acts of the Apostles 15

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 Then some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, 'Unless you have yourselvescircumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.'	1 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
2 This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it wasdecided that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the questionwith the apostles and elders.	2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
3 The members of the church saw them off, and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria theytold how the gentiles had been converted, and this news was received with the greatest satisfaction by al thebrothers.	3 And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed by the church and by the apostles and elders,and gave an account of al that God had done through them.	4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
5 But certain members of the Pharisees' party who had become believers objected, insisting that gentilesshould be circumcised and instructed to keep the Law of Moses.	5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
6 The apostles and elders met to look into the matter,	6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
7 and after a long discussion, Peter stood up and addressed them. 'My brothers,' he said, 'you knowperfectly wel that in the early days God made his choice among you: the gentiles were to learn the good newsfrom me and so become believers.	7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
8 And God, who can read everyone's heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit tothem just as he had to us.	8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
9 God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith.	9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10 Why do you put God to the test now by imposing on the disciples the very burden that neither ourancestors nor we ourselves were strong enough to support?	10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
11 But we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.'	11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
12 The entire assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing al the signs andwonders God had worked through them among the gentiles.	12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
13 When they had finished it was James who spoke. 'My brothers,' he said, 'listen to me.	13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
14 Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the gentiles.	14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15 This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:	15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
16 After that I shal return and rebuild the fal en hut of David; I shal make good the gaps in it and restoreit.	16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
17 Then the rest of humanity, and of al the nations once cal ed mine, will look for the Lord, says the Lordwho made this	17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
18 known so long ago.	18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
19 'My verdict is, then, that instead of making things more difficult for gentiles who turn to God,	19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20 we should send them a letter tel ing them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from il icitmarriages, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.	20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21 For Moses has always had his preachers in every town and is read aloud in the synagogues everySabbath.'	21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from amongthemselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, bothleading men in the brotherhood,	22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
23 and gave them this letter to take with them: 'The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings tothe brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia.	23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
24 We hear that some people coming from here, but acting without any authority from ourselves, havedisturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds;	24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our wel -beloved Barnabas and Paul,	25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.	26 Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
27 Accordingly we are sending you Judas and Silas, who wil confirm by word of mouth what we havewritten.	27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.
28 It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to impose on you any burden beyondthese essentials:	28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals andfrom illicit marriages. Avoid these, and you wil do what is right. Farewel .'	29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
30 The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and deliveredthe letter.	30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
31 The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.	31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
32 Judas and Silas, being themselves prophets, spoke for a long time, encouraging and strengtheningthe brothers.	32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
33 These two spent some time there, and then the brothers wished them peace andwent back to thosewho had sent them.	33 And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles.
34	34 Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.
35 Paul and Barnabas, however, stayed on in Antioch, and there with many others they taught andproclaimed the good news, the word of the Lord.	35 Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
36 On a later occasion Paul said to Barnabas, 'Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the townswhere we preached the word of the Lord, so that we can see how they are doing.'	36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.
37 Barnabas suggested taking John Mark,	37 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
38 but Paul was not in favour of taking along the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and hadrefused to share in their work.	38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
39 There was sharp disagreement so that they parted company, and Barnabas sailed off with Mark toCyprus.	39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
40 Before Paul left, he chose Silas to accompany him and was commended by the brothers to the graceof God.	40 And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.
41 He travel ed through Syria and Cilicia, consolidating the churches.	41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.