Act 11:1-18, 15:1-29 | ESV | STEP | Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God .

1 Now the apostles and ^athe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters} who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, ^cthe circumcision party ^{▼▼Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision} criticized him, saying, 3 ^e“You went to uncircumcised men and ^fate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 ^g“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, ^hmaking no distinction. ⁱThese six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 ^jhe will declare to you a message by which ^kyou will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, ^lthe Holy Spirit fell on them ^mjust as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ⁿ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then ^oGod gave ^pthe same gift to them as he gave to us ^qwhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, ^rwho was I ^sthat I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they ^tglorified God, saying, ^u“Then to the Gentiles also God has ^vgranted ^wrepentance that leads to life.”

Acts 15:1-29

The Jerusalem Council

1 ^xBut some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^ythe brothers, “Unless you are ^zcircumcised ^aaaccording to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^abdebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^acsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^adthe apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, ^aebeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ^afdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^agbrought great joy to all ^ahthe brothers. ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 22} 4 ^ajWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ^akthe apostles and the elders, and ^althey declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to ^amthe party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^an“It is necessary ^aoto circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

6 ^apThe ^aqapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much ^ardebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^asthat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^atthe word of ^authe gospel and believe. 8 And God, ^avwho knows the heart, ^awbore witness to them, ^axby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and ^ayhe made no distinction between us and them, ^azhaving cleansed their hearts ^baby faith. 10 Now, therefore, why ^bbare you putting God to the test ^bcby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^bdthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we ^bebelieve that we will be ^bfsaved through ^bgthe grace of the Lord Jesus, ^bhjust as they will.”

12 And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^bias they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After they finished speaking, ^bjJames replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 ^bkSimeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^bla people for his name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

16 ^bm“‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
17 that the remnant ^{▼▼Or rest} of mankind ^bomay seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles ^bpwho are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 ^bqknown from of old.’
19 Therefore ^brmy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^bsturn to God, 20 but should write to them ^btto abstain from ^buthe things polluted by idols, and from ^bvsexual immorality, and from ^bwwhat has been strangled, and from ^bxblood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^byfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then it seemed good to ^bzthe apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called ^caBarsabbas, and ^cbSilas, leading men among ^ccthe brothers, 23 with the following letter: ^cd“The brothers, both ^cethe apostles and the elders, to the brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verses 32, 33, 36} who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, ^cggreetings. 24 Since we have heard that ^chsome persons have gone out from us and ^citroubled you ^{▼▼Some manuscripts some persons from us have troubled you} with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come ^ckto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^clbeloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 ^cmmen who have ^cnrisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent ^coJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good ^cpto the Holy Spirit and ^cqto us ^crto lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 ^csthat you abstain from ^ctwhat has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”