Acts 15:2

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ¹  with them, the church ²  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ³  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ⁴  about this point of disagreement. ⁵ 

Acts 15:7

15:7 After there had been much debate, ⁶  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ⁷  God chose ⁸  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ⁹  of the gospel ¹⁰  and believe. ¹¹ 

Acts 15:39

15:39 They had ¹²  a sharp disagreement, ¹³  so that they parted company. Barnabas took along ¹⁴  Mark and sailed away to Cyprus, ¹⁵ 

[15:2]  ¹ tn Grk “no little argument and debate” (an idiom).

[15:2]  ² tn Grk “they”; the referent (the church, or the rest of the believers at Antioch) has been specified to avoid confusion with the Judaizers mentioned in the preceding clause.

[15:2]  ³ tn Grk “go up to,” but in this context a meeting is implied.

[15:2]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:2]  ⁵ tn Or “point of controversy.” It is unclear whether this event parallels Gal 2:1-10 or that Gal 2 fits with Acts 11:30. More than likely Gal 2:1-10 is to be related to Acts 11:30.

[15:7]  ⁶ tn Or “discussion.” This term is repeated from v. 2.

[15:7]  ⁷ tn Or “long ago” (an idiom, literally “from ancient days”). According to L&N 67.26, “this reference to Peter having been chosen by God sometime before to bring the gospel to the Gentiles can hardly be regarded as a reference to ancient times, though some persons understand this to mean that God’s decision was made at the beginning of time. The usage of ἀφ᾿ ἡμερῶν ἀρχαίων is probably designed to emphasize the established nature of God’s decision for Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles beginning with the centurion Cornelius. The fact that this was relatively early in the development of the church may also serve to explain the use of the idiom.”

[15:7]  ⁸ sn God chose. The theme of God’s sovereign choice is an important point, because 1st century Jews believed Israel’s unique position and customs were a reflection of God’s choice.

[15:7]  ⁹ tn Or “word.”

[15:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “of the good news.”

[15:7]  ¹¹ tn Grk “God chose among you from my mouth the Gentiles to hear the message of the gospel and to believe.” The sense of this sentence in Greek is difficult to render in English. The Greek verb ἐκλέγομαι (eklegomai, “choose”) normally takes a person or thing as a direct object; in this verse the verb has neither clearly stated. The translation understands the phrase “from my mouth,” referring to Peter, as a description of both who God chose and the task to be done. This coupled with the following statement about Gentiles hearing the message of the gospel leads to the more dynamic rendering in the translation.

[15:39]  ¹² tn Grk “There happened a sharp disagreement.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[15:39]  ¹³ tn BDAG 780 s.v. παροξυσμός 2 has “sharp disagreement” here; L&N 33.451 has “sharp argument, sharp difference of opinion.”

[15:39]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “taking along Mark sailed.” The participle παραλαβόντα (paralabonta) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[15:39]  ¹⁵ sn Cyprus is a large island in the Mediterranean off the south coast of Asia Minor.