Acts of the Apostles 15

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN 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 Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you 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 Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters 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 They were sent on their journey by the church, and passed through Phoenicia and Samaria telling of the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.
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 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the presbyters, and they reported what 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 some from the party of the Pharisees who had become believers stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and direct them to observe the Mosaic law."
6 The apostles and elders met to look into the matter,	6 The apostles and the presbyters met together to see about 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 After much debate had taken place, Peter got up and said to them, "My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would 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, who knows the heart, bore witness by granting them the holy Spirit just as he did us.
9 God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith.	9 He made no distinction between us and them, for by faith he purified their hearts.
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 Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been 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 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way 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 The whole assembly fell silent, and they listened while Paul and Barnabas described the signs and wonders God had worked among the Gentiles through them.
13 When they had finished it was James who spoke. 'My brothers,' he said, 'listen to me.	13 After they had fallen silent, James responded, "My brothers, listen to me.
14 Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the gentiles.	14 Symeon has described how God first concerned himself with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
15 This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:	15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as 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 shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; from its ruins I shall rebuild it and raise it up again,
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 so that the rest of humanity may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles on whom my name is invoked. Thus says the Lord who accomplishes these things,
18 known so long ago.	18 known from of old.'
19 'My verdict is, then, that instead of making things more difficult for gentiles who turn to God,	19 It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn 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 tell them by letter to avoid pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood.
21 For Moses has always had his preachers in every town and is read aloud in the synagogues everySabbath.'	21 For Moses, for generations now, has had those who proclaim him in every town, as he has been read in the synagogues every sabbath."
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 the apostles and presbyters, in agreement with the whole church, decided to choose representatives and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The ones chosen were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers.
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 This is the letter delivered by them: "The apostles and the presbyters, your brothers, to the brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia of Gentile origin: greetings.
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 Since we have heard that some of our number (who went out) without any mandate from us have upset you with their teachings and disturbed your peace of mind,
25 and so we have decided unanimously to elect delegates and to send them to you with our wel -beloved Barnabas and Paul,	25 we have with one accord decided to choose representatives and to send them to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 who have committed their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.	26 who have dedicated their lives to 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 So we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this same message by word of mouth:
28 It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to impose on you any burden beyondthese essentials:	28 'It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities,
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 namely, to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be doing what is right. Farewell.'"
30 The party left and went down to Antioch, where they summoned the whole community and deliveredthe letter.	30 And so they were sent on their journey. Upon their arrival in Antioch they called the assembly together and delivered the letter.
31 The community read it and were delighted with the encouragement it gave them.	31 When the people read it, they were delighted with the exhortation.
32 Judas and Silas, being themselves prophets, spoke for a long time, encouraging and strengtheningthe brothers.	32 Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted and strengthened the brothers with many words.
33 These two spent some time there, and then the brothers wished them peace andwent back to thosewho had sent them.	33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off with greetings of peace from the brothers to those who had commissioned them.
34	34
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 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming with many others the word of the Lord.
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 After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord."
37 Barnabas suggested taking John Mark,	37 Barnabas wanted to take with them also John, who was called 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 insisted that they should not take with them someone who had deserted them at Pamphylia and who had not continued with them in their work.
39 There was sharp disagreement so that they parted company, and Barnabas sailed off with Mark toCyprus.	39 So sharp was their disagreement that they separated. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.
40 Before Paul left, he chose Silas to accompany him and was commended by the brothers to the graceof God.	40 But Paul chose Silas and departed after being commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
41 He travel ed through Syria and Cilicia, consolidating the churches.	41 He traveled through Syria and Cilicia bringing strength to the churches.