Acts 15-16

21st Century King James Version

15 And certain men who came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, “Unless ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.”

² When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.

³ And being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy unto all the brethren.

⁴ And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and by the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.

⁵ But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.

⁶ And the apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷ And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, “Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the Word of the Gospel and believe.

⁸ And God, who knoweth the hearts, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost even as He did unto us,

⁹ and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

¹⁰ Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”

¹² Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul as they declared what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.

¹³ And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, hearken unto me.

¹⁴ Simon hath declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out from them a people for His name.

¹⁵ And to this agree the words of the Prophets, as it is written:

¹⁶ ‘After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. And I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up,

¹⁷ that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called, saith the Lord who doeth all these things.’

¹⁸ Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.

¹⁹ Therefore my judgment is that we trouble not those from among the Gentiles who are turned to God,

²⁰ but that we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

²¹ For Moses from olden times hath in every city those who preach him, he being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”

²² Then it pleased the apostles and elders, together with the whole church, to send men chosen from their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas surnamed Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren.

²³ And they wrote letters to accompany them in this manner: “The apostles and elders and brethren send greetings unto the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:

²⁴ Inasmuch as we have heard that certain ones who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, ‘Ye must be circumcised and keep the law’ — to whom we gave no such commandment —

²⁵ it seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

²⁶ men who have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁷ We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.

²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

²⁹ that ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. If ye keep yourselves from these things, ye shall do well. Fare ye well!”

³⁰ So when they were sent off, they went to Antioch. And when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle;

³¹ and when they had read it, they rejoiced in its consolation.

³² And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and strengthened them.

³³ And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace by the brethren to return unto the apostles.

³⁴ Notwithstanding, it pleased Silas to remain there still.

³⁵ Paul and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of the Lord, with many others also.

³⁶ And some days later, Paul said unto Barnabas, “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the Word of the Lord, and see how they do.”

³⁷ And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.

³⁸ But Paul thought it not good to take him with them, as he had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them in the work.

³⁹ And the contention was so sharp between them that they parted asunder, one from the other; and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.

⁴⁰ And Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren unto the grace of God.

⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

16 Then Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain woman who was a Jewess who believed, but whose father was a Greek.

² He was well reported of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.

³ Him Paul wanted to have go forth with him, and took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those quarters, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

⁴ And as they went through the cities, they delivered unto them the decrees to keep, that had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.

⁵ And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia.

⁷ After they had come to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered permit not.

⁸ And passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: there stood a man of Macedonia beseeching him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.”

¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Gospel unto them.

¹¹ Therefore casting loose from Troas we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day Neapolis,

¹² and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony. And we stayed in that city a number of days.

¹³ And on the Sabbath, we went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down and spoke unto the women who resorted thither.

¹⁴ And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, heard us; and the Lord opened her heart to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.

¹⁵ And when she was baptized with her household, she besought us, saying, “If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there.” And she constrained us.

¹⁶ And it came to pass as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed by a spirit of divination met us. She had brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.

¹⁷ The same followed Paul and us, crying out and saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who show unto us the way of salvation.”

¹⁸ And this she did many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that same hour.

¹⁹ And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

²⁰ and brought them to the magistrates, saying, “These men, being Jews, trouble our city exceedingly,

²¹ and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive nor to observe, being Romans.”

²² And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded that they be beaten.

²³ And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.

²⁴ He, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.

²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s bands were loosed.

²⁷ And the keeper of the prison, awakening out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had fled.

²⁸ But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here!”

²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas,

³⁰ and brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

³² And they spoke unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all who were in his house.

³³ And he took them that same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, “Let those men go.”

³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore depart and go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul said unto them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison. And now do they thrust us out privily? Nay verily! Let them come themselves and fetch us out.”

³⁸ And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates, and they feared when they heard that they were Romans.

³⁹ And they came and besought them and brought them out, and entreated them to depart out of the city.

⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison and entered into the house of Lydia. And when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them and departed.