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Dey Come Togedda In Jerusalem

15 Some guys dat trus Jesus wen come from Judea to Antiok an dey wen teach da bruddas an sistas. Dey say, “If you no cut skin jalike Moses wen tell our ancesta guys, you no can come outa da bad kine stuff you do.” Paul an Barnabas wen talk agains dat real hard wit dem. So da Antiok church leadas wen pick Paul an Barnabas an some odda guys dat trus Jesus fo go Jerusalem fo talk to da guys Jesus wen send an da older leadas bout dis cut skin stuff.

Da Antiok church guys wen send dem. Dey wen go thru Fonicia an Samaria, an dey wen tell da bruddas an sistas dea dat da peopo dat not Jews wen trus Jesus. All da bruddas an sistas wen stay good inside wen dey wen hear dat. Paul an Barnabas guys wen come Jerusalem. Da guys dat come togedda fo church, an da guys Jesus wen send, an da older leadas, dey all wen show dem aloha. An Paul an Barnabas wen tell um all da stuff God wen do wit dem. But some a da Pharisee guys dat wen trus da Good Stuff Bout Jesus wen stand up an say, “Da guys dat not Jews, no matta dey trus Jesus, dey gotta cut skin an do all da odda stuff Moses wen write down inside da Rules.”

Da guys Jesus wen send an da older leadas wen come togedda fo talk bout dat. Dey talk fo long time, an den Peter wen stand up an tell um, “Bruddas, you know dat befo time God wen pick me fo go tell da peopo dat not Jews da Good Stuff Bout Jesus so dey can trus him. God, he know wat stay inside us. He show us dat he wen take in da peopo dat not Jews, cuz he wen make his Spesho Spirit take charge a dem, jalike he wen do fo us. God see dem da same, jalike he see us. He wen make dem clean inside, cuz dey wen trus him. 10 Now, how come you guys try find out if God really mean dat he see dem da same jalike us Jewish peopo? Why you guys put hard kine rules on top da guys dat stick wit Jesus? You guys know dat we an our ancesta guys neva can do um. 11 No can! We trus dat we wen come outa da bad kine stuff we do, not cuz we do wat da Rules say, but cuz da Boss Jesus wen do plenny good tings fo us, jalike he wen do fo da peopo dat not Jews.”

12 All da guys wen come quiet fo listen wen Paul an Barnabas tell um bout all da awesome stuff God wen do fo show his power wen dey stay wit da peopo dat not Jews. 13 Wen dey pau talk, James say, “Bruddas, listen to me. 14 Simon Peter wen tell us bout da time God wen show he stay care fo da peopo dat not Jews, cuz he wen pick some peopo fo himself from dem guys. 15 Da guys dat wen talk fo God long time ago, dey say da same ting. Dey wen write dis down inside da Bible, dat God say:

16 ‘Afta dis I goin come back
    An I goin make Davidʼs ohana come good one mo time,
Jalike wen dey fix up one poho house.
17 Den all da odda peopos,
    Dey can look fo da Boss,
An all da peopo dat not Jews dat stay mines,
    Dey can look fo me too.
18 Dass wat da Boss say.
    He da One dat do all dis stuff
An he wen tell us dis long time ago.’ ”

19 An James say dis too: “Dass why I tink mo betta we no put rules dat goin make um mo hard fo da diffren peopos dat not Jews fo trus God. 20 Mo betta we write um one letta fo help da Jews an da odda peopo get togedda. We tell um fo

no eat da food da peopo wen give to da idol kine gods, an
no fool aroun, an
no eat da meat from da animals dey wen choke, an
no eat da blood too.

21 Cuz da Rules Moses wen write down, get peopo teach dat stuff in all da towns from long time ago, an dey read um in all da Jewish churches every Rest Day.”

Da Letta Fo Da Peopo Dat Not Jews Dat Trus Jesus

22 Den da guys Jesus wen send, an da older leadas, an all da Jerusalem church guys, dey wen pick some a dea own guys fo send um Antiok wit Paul an Barnabas. Dey wen pick Judas Barsabbas, an Silas, two guys dat wen lead da bruddas an sistas. 23 Dey wen send dis letta wit dem:

“Dis letta from da guys Jesus wen send, an from da older leadas. We stay yoa bruddas. Aloha fo all you bruddas an sistas dat not Jews dat stay Antiok town, an Syria, an Cilicia. 24 We hear dat some guys wen go by you guys from ova hea, but we neva send um. Dey wen bodda you guys, an wat dey wen say bout gotta cut skin, wen make you guys all mix up. 25 So, us guys wen talk togedda, an tink stay good fo pick some guys fo send um by you guys, wit our good friends Barnabas an Paul. 26 Barnabas an Paul almos wen mahke cuz dey stick wit da Boss Jesus, da Spesho Guy God Wen Send. 27 Dass why we send Judas an Silas so dey can tell you guys dat wat we wen write stay true. 28 Godʼs Spesho Spirit an us guys tink no good fo us put hard kine rules on top you guys, ony dis: 29 No eat da meat from da sacrifices dey wen make fo da idol kine gods, no eat blood, o da meat from da animal dey wen choke, an no mo fool aroun. You guys goin do good if you no do dat kine stuff. Dass all.”

30 Dey wen send da guys, an dey wen go Antiok town. Dey wen tell all da church guys fo come togedda, an dey give um da letta. 31 Da peopo wen read um an dey stay good inside, cuz da letta wen kokua dem. 32 Judas an Silas, dey wen talk fo God. So dey kokua da bruddas an sistas fo come strong, an wen help um trus God moa. 33 Dey wen stay dea long time, an den da bruddas wen send um back wit aloha so dey can go by da guys dat wen send um befo. 34 [But Silas wen like stay ova dea.] 35 Paul an Barnabas wen stay Antiok town. Dem an plenny odda guys, dey wen teach wat da Boss Jesus wen say an tell da Good Stuff From God.

Paul An Barnabas Split Up

36 Afta long time Paul wen tell Barnabas, “We go back an stay wit da bruddas an sistas in all da towns wea we wen teach wat da Boss wen say, so we know how dey stay.” 37 Barnabas wen like take John Mark wit dem. 38 But Paul neva like take um, cuz John Mark wen go way from dem befo, in Pamfylia, an neva work wit dem from dat time. 39 Paul an Barnabas no can tink da same way, an dey wen talk hard. So dey wen split up. Barnabas wen take da guy Mark an wen sail up Cyprus side. 40 Paul wen take Silas an wen go way, an da bruddas an sistas wen aks God fo take care dem wit his aloha. 41 Paul dem wen go Syria an Cilicia, an wen kokua da church guys.

The Council at Jerusalem

15 Certain people(A) came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:(B) “Unless you are circumcised,(C) according to the custom taught by Moses,(D) you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem(E) to see the apostles and elders(F) about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia(G) and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.(H) This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.(I)

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party(J) of the Pharisees(K) stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”(L)

The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.(M) God, who knows the heart,(N) showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,(O) just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them,(P) for he purified their hearts by faith.(Q) 10 Now then, why do you try to test God(R) by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke(S) that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace(T) of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders(U) God had done among the Gentiles through them.(V) 13 When they finished, James(W) spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon[a] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.(X) 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16 “‘After this I will return
    and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
    and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
    even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’[b](Y)
18     things known from long ago.[c](Z)

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,(AA) from sexual immorality,(AB) from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.(AC) 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”(AD)

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then the apostles and elders,(AE) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch(AF) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,(AG) men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch,(AH) Syria(AI) and Cilicia:(AJ)

Greetings.(AK)

24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.(AL) 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives(AM) for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas(AN) to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit(AO) and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.(AP) You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas,(AQ) who themselves were prophets,(AR) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace(AS) to return to those who had sent them. [34] [d] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached(AT) the word of the Lord.(AU)

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns(AV) where we preached the word of the Lord(AW) and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark,(AX) with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them(AY) in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas(AZ) and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.(BA) 41 He went through Syria(BB) and Cilicia,(BC) strengthening the churches.(BD)

Footnotes

  1. Acts 15:14 Greek Simeon, a variant of Simon; that is, Peter
  2. Acts 15:17 Amos 9:11,12 (see Septuagint)
  3. Acts 15:18 Some manuscripts things’— / 18 the Lord’s work is known to him from long ago
  4. Acts 15:34 Some manuscripts include here But Silas decided to remain there.