Acts of the Apostles - Ferrar Fenton Bible Translation page 1158

ACTS. 15*-9 15——-40 g ourselves; and He made no disti¤c= tion between us and them, having purifiegl their hearts_ by the fgith. I0 Ir! I2 i3 16

18 20 21

22 Now, therefore, why do you try God, by piecing a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fore- fathers nor ourselves are strong h to bear? On the cont enougraz, we believe we are to be saved throug the gift of the Lord jesus; and they do Then all the assembly kept silence

whilst they listened to Barnabas and Pau1,re1atiug how God had produced thrvuéx them evidences and deep im ressions among the nations. gut after they had finished speak- ing, James arose, and said: Men, brothers, listen to me.

Symeon has been relating how God first turned to choose from among the heathen a people for His own name: and this accords with the statements of the prophets; as it has been written: AFTER THIS I WILL RETURN, AND RE-ERECT THE FALLEN TENT or Davm; AND I WILL RELAY ITS FOUNDA- T IONS, AND REBUILD IT; SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK OUT THE LORD, AND ALL THE HEATHEN MAY TAKE MY NAME UPON THEM, Savs rue Loan, Wno mtrncrs THESE EVENTS, KNOWN FROM ETERNITY. *1 am therefore of opinion that we

should not harass those converted to God from among the heathen; but that we send urging them to keep free from pollution by idols, from fornica- tion, from that which is strangled, and blood. For Moses, from preceding generations, has had his preachers in every town, being read every Sabbath in the synagogues} Then it seemed good to the apostles

and elders, with the whole assembly, that men should be chosen from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas ——-judah, called Barsabas, and Silas, leading men in the brotherhood-—-writing by their hand: I`he apostles and elder brothers, to their brothers from among the heathen who live in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greeting: 1 Amos lx. xx. ' Since we have heard that some 24 from among .us have disturbed you with statements, unsettling your minds-to whom we gave no instruc- ~tions·—it seemed right for us, being assembled together, to select men and send them to you, together with our friends, Barnabas and Paul, men who have delivered up their lives for the name of our Lord jesus Christ. We have therefore sent judah and Silas, who themselves will also report to you the same facts by word of mouth. For it is the decision of the Holy Spirit, and our own, to lay upon you no greater burden than is necessary; that is, to turn away from idol sacri- fices, from blood, from that which is strangled, and from fornication. Keeping yourselves free from these, you will do well. Farewell. Having, therefore, been dispatched,

they went down to Antioch; and having convened the people, they delivered the letter. When they had read it, they were pleased at its en- couragement; and judah and Silas also, who were speakers, cheered the brethren by a long discourse, and strengthened them. After working there for a time, they were released in peace from the brethren to those who had sent them} Paul and Barnabas, however, remained in Antioch, with several others, teaching and preaching the message of the Lord. 26 28 33 35

§anl’a Strunk missionary §s1zrnrg. Then, after some time, Paul said to 36 Let us now pay a return visit to our brothers in every town in which we have preached the good news of the message of the Lord, and see how they are proceeding. But Barnabas was inclined to take 37 john, surnamed Mark, with them. Paul, however, considered it inad— 38 visable to take him with them, as he had deserted them at Pamphylia, and did not accompany them in that work. A dispute consequently occurred., 39 which led them to separate from each other. And Barnabas, taking Mark with him, sailed to Cyprus; while Paul, choosing Silas, took his 40 1 Some old MSS. here insert ver. 34 in

language to the following edect, but each But Silas made u% his It has een suggested that the clause has been placed here to explain ver. 4c.-F F. 1158