Act 15 | ESV | STEP | But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers , Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses , you cannot be saved .

1 ^aBut some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^bthe brothers, “Unless you are ^ccircumcised ^daccording to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and ^edebate with them, Paul and Barnabas and ^fsome of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to ^gthe apostles and the elders about this question. 3 So, ^hbeing sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, ⁱdescribing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and ^jbrought great joy to all ^kthe brothers. ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 22} 4 ^mWhen they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and ⁿthe apostles and the elders, and ^othey declared all that God had done with them. 5 But some believers who belonged to ^pthe party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^q“It is necessary ^rto circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

6 ^sThe ^tapostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. 7 And after there had been much ^udebate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^vthat by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^wthe word of ^xthe gospel and believe. 8 And God, ^ywho knows the heart, ^zbore witness to them, ^aaby giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and ^abhe made no distinction between us and them, ^achaving cleansed their hearts ^adby faith. 10 Now, therefore, why ^aeare you putting God to the test ^afby placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^agthat neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we ^ahbelieve that we will be ^aisaved through ^ajthe grace of the Lord Jesus, ^akjust as they will.”

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

16 ^ap“‘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 ^armay seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles ^aswho are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things 18 ^atknown from of old.’
19 Therefore ^aumy judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^avturn to God, 20 but should write to them ^awto abstain from ^axthe things polluted by idols, and from ^aysexual immorality, and from ^azwhat has been strangled, and from ^bablood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^bbfor he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then it seemed good to ^bcthe 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 ^bdBarsabbas, and ^beSilas, leading men among ^bfthe brothers, 23 with the following letter: ^bg“The brothers, both ^bhthe 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, ^bjgreetings. 24 Since we have heard that ^bksome persons have gone out from us and ^bltroubled 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 ^bnto one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our ^bobeloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 ^bpmen who have ^bqrisked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent ^brJudas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good ^bsto the Holy Spirit and ^btto us ^buto lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 ^bvthat you abstain from ^bwwhat 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.”

30 So when they were sent off, they went down to Antioch, and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter. 31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement. 32 And Judas and Silas, who were themselves ^bxprophets, encouraged and ^bystrengthened ^bzthe brothers with many words. 33 And after they had spent some time, they were sent off ^cain peace by ^cbthe brothers to those who had sent them. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts insert verse 34: But it seemed good to Silas to remain there} 35 But ^cdPaul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

Paul and Barnabas Separate

36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit ^cethe brothers ^cfin every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them ^cgJohn called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one ^chwho had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose ^cia sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. ^cjBarnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, ^ckhaving been commended by ^clthe brothers to ^cmthe grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, ^cnstrengthening the churches.