Acts 15-16

Contemporary English Version

15 ^(A) Some people came from Judea and started teaching the Lord's followers that they could not be saved, unless they were circumcised as Moses had taught. ² This caused trouble, and Paul and Barnabas argued with them about this teaching. So it was decided to send Paul and Barnabas and a few others to Jerusalem to discuss this problem with the apostles and the church leaders.

The Church Leaders Meet in Jerusalem

³ The men who were sent by the church went through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling how the Gentiles had turned to God. This news made the Lord's followers very happy. ⁴ When the men arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, including the apostles and the leaders. They told them everything God had helped them do. ⁵ But some Pharisees had become followers of the Lord. They stood up and said, “Gentiles who have faith in the Lord must be circumcised and told to obey the Law of Moses.”

⁶ The apostles and church leaders met to discuss this problem about Gentiles. ^7 (B) They had talked it over for a long time, when Peter got up and said:

My friends, you know that God decided long ago to let me be the one from your group to preach the good news to the Gentiles. God did this so they would hear and obey him. ^8 (C) He knows what is in everyone's heart. And he showed he had chosen the Gentiles, when he gave them the Holy Spirit, just as he had given his Spirit to us. ⁹ God treated them in the same way that he treated us. They put their faith in him, and he made their hearts pure.

¹⁰ Now why are you trying to make God angry by placing a heavy burden on these followers? This burden was too heavy for us or our ancestors. ¹¹ But we believe that we will be saved by the gift of undeserved grace from our Lord Jesus Christ, just as the Gentiles are.

¹² Everyone kept quiet and listened as Barnabas and Paul told how God had given them the power to work a lot of miracles and wonders for the Gentiles.

¹³ After they had finished speaking, James^[a] said:

My friends, listen to me! ¹⁴ Simon Peter^[b] has told how God first came to the Gentiles and made some of them his own people. ¹⁵ This agrees with what the prophets wrote,

¹⁹ And so, my friends, I don't think we should place burdens on the Gentiles who are turning to God. ^20 (E) We should simply write and tell them not to eat anything that has been offered to idols. They should be told not to eat the meat of any animal that has been strangled or that still has blood in it. They must also not commit any terrible sexual sins.^[c]

²¹ We must remember that the Law of Moses has been preached in city after city for many years, and every Sabbath it is read in our synagogues.

A Letter to Gentiles Who Had Faith in the Lord

²² The apostles, the leaders, and all the church members decided to send some men to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas Barsabbas,^[d] who were two leaders of the Lord's followers. ²³ They wrote a letter that said:

We apostles and leaders send friendly greetings to all of you Gentiles who are followers of the Lord in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.

²⁴ We have heard that some people from here have terribly upset you by what they said. But we did not send them! ²⁵ So we met together and decided to choose some men and to send them to you along with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. ²⁶ These men have risked their lives for our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ We are also sending Judas and Silas, who will tell you in person the same things that we are writing.

²⁸ The Holy Spirit has shown us that we should not place any extra burden on you. ^29 (F) But you should not eat anything offered to idols. You should not eat any meat that still has the blood in it or any meat of any animal that has been strangled. You must also not commit any terrible sexual sins. If you follow these instructions, you will do well.

We send our best wishes.

³⁰ The four men left Jerusalem and went to Antioch. Then they called the church members together and gave them the letter. ³¹ When the letter was read, everyone was pleased and greatly encouraged. ³² Judas and Silas were prophets, and they spoke a long time, encouraging and helping the Lord's followers.

³³ The men from Jerusalem stayed on in Antioch for a while. And when they left to return to the ones who had sent them, the followers wished them well. ^34-35 But Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached about the Lord.^[e]

Paul and Barnabas Go Their Separate Ways

³⁶ Sometime later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let's go back and visit the Lord's followers in the cities where we preached his message. Then we will know how they are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take along John, whose other name was Mark. ^38 (G) But Paul did not want to, because Mark had left them in Pamphylia and had stopped working with them.

³⁹ Paul and Barnabas argued, then each of them went his own way. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul took Silas and left after the followers had placed them in God's care. ⁴¹ They traveled through Syria and Cilicia, encouraging the churches.

Timothy Works with Paul and Silas

16 Paul and Silas went back to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a follower named Timothy. His mother was also a follower. She was Jewish, and his father was Greek. ² The Lord's followers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy, ³ and Paul wanted him to go with them. But Paul first had him circumcised, because all the Jewish people around there knew that Timothy's father was Greek.^[f]

⁴ As Paul and the others went from city to city, they told the followers what the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem had decided, and they urged them to follow these instructions. ⁵ The churches became stronger in their faith, and each day more people put their faith in the Lord.

Paul's Vision in Troas

⁶ Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia. ⁷ After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them. ⁸ So they went on through^[g] Mysia until they came to Troas.

⁹ During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there.

Lydia Becomes a Follower of the Lord

¹¹ We sailed straight from Troas to Samothrace, and the next day we arrived in Neapolis. ¹² From there we went to Philippi, which is a Roman colony in the first district of Macedonia.^[h]

We spent several days in Philippi. ¹³ Then on the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to a place by the river, where we thought there would be a Jewish meeting place for prayer. We sat down and talked with the women who came. ¹⁴ One of them was Lydia, who was from the city of Thyatira and sold expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of the Lord God, and he made her willing to accept what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ Then after she and her family were baptized, she kept on begging us, “If you think I really do have faith in the Lord, come stay in my home.” Finally, we accepted her invitation.

Paul and Silas Are Put in Jail

¹⁶ One day on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl. She had a spirit in her that gave her the power to tell the future. By doing this she made a lot of money for her owners. ¹⁷ The girl followed Paul and the rest of us, and she kept yelling, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved.”

¹⁸ This went on for several days. Finally, Paul got so upset that he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to leave this girl alone!” At once the evil spirit left her.

¹⁹ When the girl's owners realized they had lost all chances for making more money, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into court. ²⁰ They told the officials, “These Jews are upsetting our city! ²¹ They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do.”

²² The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip. ²³ After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully. ²⁴ The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened. ²⁶ Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.

²⁷ When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted, “Don't harm yourself! No one has escaped.”

²⁹ The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas. ³⁰ After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

³¹ They replied, “Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home.”

³² Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord. ³³ While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized. ³⁴ They were very glad they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat.

³⁵ The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go. ³⁶ The jailer told Paul, “The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul told the police, “We are Roman citizens,^[i] and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out.”

³⁸ When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid. ³⁹ So they came and apologized. They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town. ⁴⁰ But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lord's followers and encouraged them. Then they left.