Atlas Biblica

    Acts · 40 verses

    Acts 15

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    The apostles settle a question about the Gentiles, send a letter of remarkably particular restrictions, and then Paul and Barnabas part company over Mark.

    The question before Jerusalemvv. 1–21

    The trouble arrives from Judea in the form of a condition: circumcision according to Moses, or no salvation. Paul and Barnabas debate the visitors sharply, then travel through Phoenicia and Samaria on the way to Jerusalem, reporting the Gentiles’ conversion and causing great joy. In Jerusalem the apostles and elders gather, and after much discussion Peter speaks of God making no distinction between Jew and Gentile, while Barnabas and Paul describe signs and wonders. James then gives the judgment: no trouble for Gentiles turning to God, but four requirements remain—food polluted by idols, sexual immorality, meat from strangled animals, and blood. Why precisely these four are called essential is left sitting neatly unexplained beside Moses being read every Sabbath.

    The letter and its welcomevv. 22–35

    The whole church chooses Judas Barsabbas and Silas to accompany Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. The letter disowns the unauthorised teachers who unsettled the Gentiles, praises Paul and Barnabas as men who risked their lives, and says that the Holy Spirit and the assembled believers have imposed nothing beyond the essential list. Antioch reads the letter and rejoices—an unusually cheerful reception for a document containing prohibitions. Judas and Silas, prophets themselves, encourage and strengthen the brothers before being sent away in peace. Paul and Barnabas remain, teaching and preaching with many others.

    The disagreement over Markvv. 36–41

    Some time later Paul proposes revisiting every town where the word was proclaimed. Barnabas wants Mark along; Paul does not, because Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued in the work. The disagreement is so sharp that the pair separates: Barnabas takes Mark and sails for Cyprus, while Paul chooses Silas and leaves with the brothers’ commendation. Paul travels through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. The council has reached agreement; the missionary itinerary, less obligingly, has not.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Acts 15:1Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

    2. Acts 15:2And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

    3. Acts 15:3Sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, recounting the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.

    4. Acts 15:4On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.

    5. Acts 15:5But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”

    6. Acts 15:6So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.

    7. Acts 15:7After much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you that the Gentiles would hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.

    8. Acts 15:8And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.

    9. Acts 15:9He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.

    10. Acts 15:10Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?

    11. Acts 15:11On the contrary, we believe it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

    12. Acts 15:12The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

    13. Acts 15:13When they had finished speaking, James declared, “Brothers, listen to me!

    14. Acts 15:14Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.

    15. Acts 15:15The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

    16. Acts 15:16‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,

    17. Acts 15:17so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things

    18. Acts 15:18that have been known for ages.’

    19. Acts 15:19It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not cause trouble for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

    20. Acts 15:20Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.

    21. Acts 15:21For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

    22. Acts 15:22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, two leaders among the brothers,

    23. Acts 15:23and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

    24. Acts 15:24It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.

    25. Acts 15:25So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

    26. Acts 15:26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    27. Acts 15:27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.

    28. Acts 15:28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:

    29. Acts 15:29You must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.

    30. Acts 15:30So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter.

    31. Acts 15:31When the people read it, they rejoiced at its encouraging message.

    32. Acts 15:32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

    33. Acts 15:33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers in peace to return to those who had sent them.

    34. Acts 15:35But Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch, along with many others, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord.

    35. Acts 15:36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.”

    36. Acts 15:37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark.

    37. Acts 15:38But Paul thought it best not to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.

    38. Acts 15:39Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,

    39. Acts 15:40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.

    40. Acts 15:41And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 551 passages were voted onto 40 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 16Amos 9:11–12“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
    • 17Zechariah 2:11“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
    • 29Acts 15:20Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
    • 1Galatians 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.
    • 11Romans 3:24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
    • 17Zechariah 8:20–23This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
    • 1Acts 15:5But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
    • 38Acts 13:13After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.
    • 1Colossians 2:8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
    • 11Titus 3:4–7But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
    • 10Matthew 23:4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
    • 10Galatians 5:1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.
    • 11Ephesians 2:5–9made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
    • 17Isaiah 65:1“I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. To a nation that did not call My name, I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
    • 17Hosea 2:23And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
    • 29Acts 21:25As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they must abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.”

    Onward

    Keep reading

    Next chapterActs 1640 verses.Named herePeterEverything the graph connects to this name.BookActsAll 28 chapters.Every bookThe Bible66 books, 1,189 chapters.