Acts 15:6-21

15:6 Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate ¹  about this matter. 15:7 After there had been much debate, ²  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ³  God chose ⁴  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ⁵  of the gospel ⁶  and believe. ⁷  15:8 And God, who knows the heart, ⁸  has testified ⁹  to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ¹⁰  15:9 and he made no distinction ¹¹  between them and us, cleansing ¹²  their hearts by faith. 15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test ¹³  by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke ¹⁴  that neither our ancestors ¹⁵  nor we have been able to bear? 15:11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through ¹⁶  the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are.” ¹⁷ 

15:12 The whole group kept quiet ¹⁸  and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs ¹⁹  and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 15:13 After they stopped speaking, ²⁰  James replied, ²¹  “Brothers, listen to me. 15:14 Simeon ²²  has explained ²³  how God first concerned himself ²⁴  to select ²⁵  from among the Gentiles ²⁶  a people for his name. 15:15 The ²⁷  words of the prophets agree ²⁸  with this, as it is written,

15:16 ‘After this ²⁹  I ³⁰  will return,

and I will rebuild the fallen tent ³¹  of David;

I will rebuild its ruins and restore ³²  it,

15:17 so that the rest of humanity ³³  may seek the Lord,

namely, ³⁴  all the Gentiles ³⁵  I have called to be my own,’ ³⁶  says the Lord, ³⁷  who makes these things 15:18 known ³⁸  from long ago. ³⁹ 

15:19 “Therefore I conclude ⁴⁰  that we should not cause extra difficulty ⁴¹  for those among the Gentiles ⁴²  who are turning to God, 15:20 but that we should write them a letter ⁴³  telling them to abstain ⁴⁴  from things defiled ⁴⁵  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ⁴⁶  and from blood. 15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ⁴⁷  because he is read aloud ⁴⁸  in the synagogues ⁴⁹  every Sabbath.”

[15:6]  ¹ tn The translation for ἰδεῖν (idein) in this verse is given by BDAG 279-80 s.v. εἶδον 3 as “deliberate concerning this matter.” A contemporary idiom would be to “look into” a matter.

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

[15:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Or “word.”

[15:7]  ⁶ tn Or “of the good news.”

[15:7]  ⁷ 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.

[15:8]  ⁸ sn The expression who knows the heart means “who knows what people think.”

[15:8]  ⁹ tn Or “has borne witness.”

[15:8]  ¹⁰ sn By giving them…just as he did to us. The allusion is to the events of Acts 10-11, esp. 10:44-48 and Peter’s remarks in 11:15-18.

[15:9]  ¹¹ tn BDAG 231 s.v. διακρίνω 1.b lists this passage under the meaning “to conclude that there is a difference, make a distinction, differentiate.”

[15:9]  ¹² tn Or “purifying.”

[15:10]  ¹³ tn According to BDAG 793 s.v. πειράζω 2.c, “In Ac 15:10 the πειράζειν τὸν θεόν consists in the fact that after God’s will has been clearly made known through granting of the Spirit to the Gentiles (v. 8), some doubt and make trial to see whether God’s will really becomes operative.” All testing of God in Luke is negative: Luke 4:2; 11:16.

[15:10]  ¹⁴ sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restriction that some in the early church wanted to place on Gentile converts to Christianity of observing the law of Moses and having males circumcised. The yoke is a decidedly negative image: Matt 23:4, but cf. Matt 11:29-30.

[15:10]  ¹⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[15:11]  ¹⁶ tn Or “by.”

[15:11]  ¹⁷ tn Or “Jesus, just as they are.” BDAG 1016-17 s.v. τρόπος 1 translates καθ᾿ ὃν τρόπον (kaq’ Jon tropon) here as “in the same way as.”

[15:12]  ¹⁸ tn BDAG 922 s.v. σιγάω 1.a lists this passage under the meaning “say nothing, keep still, keep silent.”

[15:12]  ¹⁹ tn Here in connection with τέρατα (terata) the miraculous nature of these signs is indicated.

[15:13]  ²⁰ tn BDAG 922 s.v. σιγάω 1.b lists this passage under the meaning “stop speaking, become silent.”

[15:13]  ²¹ tn Grk “answered, saying”; the redundant participle λέγων (legwn) has not been translated.

[15:14]  ²² sn Simeon is a form of the apostle Peter’s Aramaic name. James uses Peter’s “Jewish” name here.

[15:14]  ²³ tn Or “reported,” “described.”

[15:14]  ²⁴ tn BDAG 378 s.v. ἐπισκέπτομαι 3 translates this phrase in Acts 15:14, “God concerned himself about winning a people fr. among the nations.”

[15:14]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to take,” but in the sense of selecting or choosing (accompanied by the preposition ἐκ [ek] plus a genitive specifying the group selected from) see Heb 5:1; also BDAG 584 s.v. λαμβάνω 6.

[15:14]  ²⁶ sn In the Greek text the expression “from among the Gentiles” is in emphatic position.

[15:15]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[15:15]  ²⁸ sn The term agree means “match” or “harmonize with.” James’ point in the introduction argues that many of the OT prophets taught this. He gives one example (which follows).

[15:16]  ²⁹ tn Grk “After these things.”

[15:16]  ³⁰ sn The first person pronoun I refers to God and his activity. It is God who is doing this.

[15:16]  ³¹ tn Or more generally, “dwelling”; perhaps, “royal tent.” According to BDAG 928 s.v. σκηνή the word can mean “tent” or “hut,” or more generally “lodging” or “dwelling.” In this verse (a quotation from Amos 9:11) BDAG refers this to David’s ruined kingdom; it is possibly an allusion to a king’s tent (a royal tent). God is at work to reestablish David’s line (Acts 2:30-36; 13:32-39).

[15:16]  ³² tn BDAG 86 s.v. ἀνορθόω places this verb under the meaning “to build someth. up again after it has fallen, rebuild, restore,” but since ἀνοικοδομέω (anoikodomew, “rebuild”) has occurred twice in this verse already, “restore” is used here.

[15:17]  ³³ tn Or “so that all other people.” The use of this term follows Amos 9:11 LXX.

[15:17]  ³⁴ tn Here καί (kai) introduces an explanatory clause that explains the preceding phrase “the rest of humanity.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) could also be punctuated in English as a parenthesis.

[15:17]  ³⁵ tn Or “all the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[15:17]  ³⁶ tn Grk “all the Gentiles on whom my name has been called.” Based on well-attested OT usage, the passive of ἐπικαλέω (epikalew) here indicates God’s ownership (“all the Gentiles who belong to me”) or calling (“all the Gentiles whom I have called to be my own”). See L&N 11.28.

[15:17]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Amos 9:11-12 LXX. James demonstrated a high degree of cultural sensitivity when he cited a version of the text (the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament) that Gentiles would use.

[15:18]  ³⁸ sn Who makes these things known. The remark emphasizes how God’s design of these things reaches back to the time he declared them.

[15:18]  ³⁹ sn An allusion to Isa 45:21.

[15:19]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “I have decided,” “I think.” The verb κρίνω (krinw) has a far broader range of meaning than the often-used English verb “judge.” BDAG 568 s.v. κρίνω 3 places this use in Acts 15:19 in the category “judge, think, consider, look upon” followed by double accusative of object and predicate. However, many modern translations give the impression that a binding decision is being handed down by James: “it is my judgment” (NASB, NIV); “I have reached the decision” (NRSV). L&N 22.25, on the other hand, translate the phrase here “I think that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles.” This gives more the impression of an opinion than a binding decision. The resolution of this lies not so much in the lexical data as in how one conceives James’ role in the leadership of the Jerusalem church, plus the dynamics of the specific situation where the issue of Gentile inclusion in the church was being discussed. The major possibilities are: (1) James is handing down a binding decision to the rest of the church as the one who has ultimate authority to decide this matter; (2) James is offering his own personal opinion in the matter, which is not binding on the church; (3) James is voicing a consensus opinion of all the apostles and elders, although phrasing it as if it were his own; (4) James is making a suggestion to the rest of the leadership as to what course they should follow. In light of the difficulty in reconstructing the historical situation in detail, it is best to use a translation which maintains as many of the various options as possible. For this reason the translation “Therefore I conclude” has been used, leaving open the question whether in reaching this conclusion James is speaking only for himself or for the rest of the leadership.

[15:19]  ⁴¹ tn Or “trouble.” This term is a NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 775 s.v. παρενοχλέω).

[15:19]  ⁴² tn Or “among the nations” (in Greek the word for “nation” and “Gentile” is the same).

[15:20]  ⁴³ tn The translation “to write a letter, to send a letter to” for ἐπιστέλλω (epistellw) is given in L&N 33.49.

[15:20]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ tn Or “polluted.”

[15:20]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “from generations of old”; the translation “fr. ancient times” is given by BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 3.b.

[15:21]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.