Acts 11:7-9

11:7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter ¹  and eat!’ 11:8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean ²  has ever entered my mouth!’ 11:9 But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider ³  ritually unclean!’

Acts 15:20-21

15:20 but that we should write them a letter ⁴  telling them to abstain ⁵  from things defiled ⁶  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ⁷  and from blood. 15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ⁸  because he is read aloud ⁹  in the synagogues ¹⁰  every Sabbath.”

Acts 15:29

15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹¹  and from blood and from what has been strangled ¹²  and from sexual immorality. ¹³  If you keep yourselves from doing these things, ¹⁴  you will do well. Farewell. ¹⁵ 

Acts 21:25

21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided ¹⁶  that they should avoid ¹⁷  meat that has been sacrificed to idols ¹⁸  and blood and what has been strangled ¹⁹  and sexual immorality.”

Romans 14:14

14:14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; still, it is unclean to the one who considers it unclean.

Romans 14:20

14:20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. For although all things are clean, ²⁰  it is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you eat.

Romans 14:1

Exhortation to Mutual Forbearance

14:1 Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. ²¹ 

Colossians 1:23

1:23 if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, ²²  without shifting ²³  from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

Colossians 1:25

1:25 I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship ²⁴  from God – given to me for you – in order to complete ²⁵  the word of God,

[11:7]  ¹ tn Or “kill.” Traditionally θῦσον (quson) is translated “kill,” but in the case of animals intended for food, “slaughter” is more appropriate.

[11:8]  ² tn Possibly there is a subtle distinction in meaning between κοινός (koinos) and ἀκάθαρτος (akaqartos) here, but according to L&N 53.39 it is difficult to determine precise differences in meaning based on existing contexts. The sentiment Peter expressed is like Ezek 4:14.

[11:9]  ³ tn Or “declare.” The wording matches Acts 10:15.

[15:20]  ⁴ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ⁵ tn Three of the four prohibitions deal with food (the first, third and fourth) while one prohibition deals with behavior (the second, refraining from sexual immorality). Since these occur in the order they do, the translation “abstain from” is used to cover both sorts of activity (eating food items, immoral behavior).

[15:20]  ⁶ tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ⁷ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14), Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the following provision in Acts 15:20, and from blood).

[15:21]  ⁸ tn Grk “from generations of old”; the translation “fr. ancient times” is given by BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 3.b.

[15:21]  ⁹ tn The translation “read aloud” is used to indicate the actual practice; translating as “read” could be misunderstood to mean private, silent reading.

[15:21]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[15:29]  ¹¹ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[15:29]  ¹² tc Codex Bezae (D) and a few other witnesses lack the restriction “and from what has been strangled” (καὶ πνικτῶν, kai pniktwn), though the words are supported by a wide variety of early and important witnesses otherwise and should be considered authentic.

[15:29]  ¹³ tc Codex Bezae (D) as well as 323 614 945 1739 1891 sa and other witnesses have after “sexual immorality” the following statement: “And whatever you do not want to happen to yourselves, do not do to another/others.” By adding this negative form of the Golden Rule, these witnesses effectively change the Apostolic Decree from what might be regarded as ceremonial restrictions into more ethical demands. The issues here are quite complicated, and beyond the scope of this brief note. Suffice it to say that D and its allies here are almost surely an expansion and alteration of the original text of Acts. For an excellent discussion of the exegetical and textual issues, see TCGNT 379-83.

[15:29]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “from which things keeping yourselves.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (ὧν, |wn) has been replaced by a pronoun (“these things”) and a new English sentence begun. The participle διατηροῦντες (diathrounte") has been translated as a conditional adverbial participle (“if you keep yourselves”). See further L&N 13.153.

[15:29]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase ἔρρωσθε (errwsqe) may be understood as a stock device indicating a letter is complete (“good-bye,” L&N 33.24) or as a sincere wish that the persons involved may fare well (“may you fare well,” L&N 23.133).

[21:25]  ¹⁶ tn L&N 13.154 has “‘having decided that they must keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from an animal that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality’ Ac 21:25.”

[21:25]  ¹⁷ tn This is a different Greek word than the one used in Acts 15:20, 29. BDAG 1068 s.v. φυλάσσω 3 has “to be on one’s guard against, look out for, avoid…w. acc. of pers. or thing avoided…Ac 21:25.” The Greek word used in Acts 15:20, 29 is ἀπέχω (apecw). The difference in meaning, although slight, has been maintained in the translation.

[21:25]  ¹⁸ tn There is no specific semantic component in the Greek word εἰδωλόθυτος that means “meat” (see BDAG 280 s.v. εἰδωλόθυτος; L&N 5.15). The stem –θυτος means “sacrifice” (referring to an animal sacrificially killed) and thereby implies meat.

[21:25]  ¹⁹ sn What has been strangled. That is, to refrain from eating animals that had been killed without having the blood drained from them. According to the Mosaic law (Lev 17:13-14) Jews were forbidden to eat flesh with the blood still in it (note the preceding provision in this verse, and blood).

[14:20]  ²⁰ sn Here clean refers to food being ceremonially clean.

[14:1]  ²¹ tn Grk “over opinions.” The qualifier “differing” has been supplied to clarify the meaning.

[1:23]  ²² tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”

[1:23]  ²³ tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.

[1:25]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”

[1:25]  ²⁵ tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.