Act 15-16 | 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.

Acts 16

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

1 Paul ^{▼▼Greek He} came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named ^cpTimothy, ^cqthe son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by ^crthe brothers ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verse 40} at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he ^cttook him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance ^cuthe decisions ^cvthat had been reached by ^cwthe apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 ^cxSo the churches were strengthened in ^cythe faith, and they increased in numbers ^czdaily.

The Macedonian Call

6 And ^dathey went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but ^dbthe Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down ^dcto Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul ^{▼▼Greek he} had seen the vision, immediately ^dewe sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Conversion of Lydia

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we ^dfmade a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to ^dgPhilippi, which is a leading city of the ^{▼▼Or that} district of Macedonia and ^dia Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And ^djon the Sabbath day we went outside the gate ^dkto the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we ^dlsat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, ^dmwho was a worshiper of God. The Lord ^dnopened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, ^doand her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she ^dpprevailed upon us.

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 As we were going to ^dqthe place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had ^dra spirit of ^dsdivination and ^dtbrought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, ^ducrying out, “These men are ^dvservants ^{▼▼Greek bondservants} of ^dxthe Most High God, who proclaim to you ^dythe way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ^dz“I command you ^eain the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And ^ebit came out that very hour.

19 But ^ecwhen her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and ^eddragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They ^eeadvocate customs that are not lawful for us ^efas Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders ^egto beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner ^ehprison and fastened their feet in ^eithe stocks.

The Philippian Jailer Converted

25 ^ejAbout midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly ^ekthere was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately ^elall the doors were opened, and ^emeveryone’s bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and ^enwas about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer ^{▼▼Greek he} called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he ^epfell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, ^eqwhat must I do to be ^ersaved?” 31 And they said, ^es“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you ^etand your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them ^euthe same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he ^evwas baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he ^ewrejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, ^exuncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and ^eythey were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and ^ezasked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited ^faLydia. And when they had seen ^fbthe brothers, they encouraged them and departed.