16
“ ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
17
that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ —
18
things known from long ago.
19
“It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
20
Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
21
For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.
23
With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.
24
We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
25
So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—
26
men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.