Acts 15:13

Good News Translation

When they had finished speaking, James spoke up: "Listen to me, my friends!

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
After they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers and sisters, listen to me.

King James Version (1611)
And after they had helde their peace, Iames answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken vnto me.

King James Version
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

English Standard Version
After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me.

New American Standard Bible
After they stopped speaking, James responded, saying, "Brothers, listen to me.

New Century Version
After they finished speaking, James said, "Brothers, listen to me.

Amplified Bible
When they had finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brothers, listen to me.

Berean Standard Bible
When they had finished speaking, James declared, "Brothers, listen to me!

Contemporary English Version
After they had finished speaking, James said: My friends, listen to me!

Complete Jewish Bible
Ya‘akov broke the silence to reply. "Brothers," he said, "hear what I have to say.

Darby Translation
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, listen to me:

Easy-to-Read Version
When they finished speaking, James said, "My brothers, listen to me.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when they helde their peace, Iames answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken vnto me.

George Lamsa Translation
And when they had ceased speaking, James rose up and said, Men and brethren, hear me:

Lexham English Bible
And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Men and brothers, listen to me!

Literal Translation
And after they were silent, James responded, saying, Men, brothers, hear me:

American Standard Version
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:

Bible in Basic English
And when they had come to an end, James, answering, said, My brothers, give ear to me:

Hebrew Names Version
After they were silent, Ya`akov answered, "Brothers, listen to me.

International Standard Version
After they had finished speaking, James responded by saying, "Brothers, listen to me.Acts 12:17;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
AND after they were silent, Jakub arose, and said, Men, brethren, hear me:

Murdock Translation
And after they ceased, James arose and said: Men, brethren, hearken to me.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when they helde their peace, Iames aunswered, saying: Men and brethren, hearken vnto me.

English Revised Version
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me:

World English Bible
After they were silent, James answered, "Brothers, listen to me.

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And when they held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken to me.

Weymouth's New Testament
When they had finished speaking, James said, "Brethren, listen to me.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And aftir that thei helden pees, James answeride, and seide, Britheren, here ye me.

Update Bible Version
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men, brothers, listen to me:

Webster's Bible Translation
And after they held their peace, James answered, saying, Men, brethren, hearken to me.

New English Translation
After they stopped speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me.

New King James Version
And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, "Men and brethren, listen to me:

New Living Translation
When they had finished, James stood and said, "Brothers, listen to me.

New Life Bible
When they finished speaking, James said, "Brothers, listen to me.

New Revised Standard
After they finished speaking, James replied, "My brothers, listen to me.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, after they held their peace, James answered, saying - Brethren! hearken unto me.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying: Men, brethren, hear me.

Revised Standard Version
After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brethren, listen to me.

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And when they helde their peace Iames answered sayinge: Men and brethren herken vnto me.

Young's Literal Translation
and after they are silent, James answered, saying, `Men, brethren, hearken to me;

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Afterwarde whan they helde their peace, Iames answered, and sayde: Ye men and brethren, herke vnto me,

Mace New Testament (1729)
After they had done speaking, James assum'd the discourse, and said, my brethren, give me your attention.

Simplified Cowboy Version
When they were done, Jesus's brother James stood up and said, "Listen to me, boys.

Contextual Overview

⁶ The apostles and the elders met together to consider this question. ⁷ After a long debate Peter stood up and said, "My friends, you know that a long time ago God chose me from among you to preach the Good News to the Gentiles, so that they could hear and believe. ⁸ And God, who knows the thoughts of everyone, showed his approval of the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he had to us. ⁹ He made no difference between us and them; he forgave their sins because they believed. ¹⁰ So then, why do you now want to put God to the test by laying a load on the backs of the believers which neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry? ¹¹ No! We believe and are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are." ¹² The whole group was silent as they heard Barnabas and Paul report all the miracles and wonders that God had performed through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ When they had finished speaking, James spoke up: "Listen to me, my friends! ¹⁴ Simon has just explained how God first showed his care for the Gentiles by taking from among them a people to belong to him. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets agree completely with this. As the scripture says,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

after: 1 Corinthians 14:30-33, James 1:19

James: Acts 12:17, Acts 21:18, Mark 15:40, Galatians 1:19, Galatians 2:9, Galatians 2:12, James 1:1

Men: Acts 2:14, Acts 2:22, Acts 2:29, Acts 7:2, Acts 22:1

Reciprocal: Matthew 10:3 - James Mark 3:18 - James Luke 6:15 - James Acts 1:13 - James Acts 1:16 - Men

Cross-References

Genesis 15:1
After this, Abram had a vision and heard the Lord say to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I will shield you from danger and give you a great reward."

Genesis 15:2
But Abram answered, "Sovereign Lord , what good will your reward do me, since I have no children? My only heir is Eliezer of Damascus.

Genesis 15:6
Abram put his trust in the Lord , and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.

Genesis 15:7
Then the Lord said to him, "I am the Lord , who led you out of Ur in Babylonia, to give you this land as your own."

Genesis 15:8
But Abram asked, "Sovereign Lord , how can I know that it will be mine?"

Genesis 15:11
Vultures came down on the bodies, but Abram drove them off.

Genesis 15:12
When the sun was going down, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and fear and terror came over him.

Genesis 15:13
The Lord said to him, "Your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land; they will be slaves there and will be treated cruelly for four hundred years.

Genesis 17:8
I will give to you and to your descendants this land in which you are now a foreigner. The whole land of Canaan will belong to your descendants forever, and I will be their God."

Exodus 1:11
So the Egyptians put slave drivers over them to crush their spirits with hard labor. The Israelites built the cities of Pithom and Rameses to serve as supply centers for the king.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And after they had held their peace,.... Meaning not the multitude, but Paul and Barnabas; when they had finished their account, and had done speaking:

James answered; or rose up, as the Syriac version reads, he stood up and began to speak. This was James the son of Alphaeus, one of the twelve apostles, sometimes called the brother of the Lord; for the other James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John, was dead, being killed by Herod, Acts 12:2 but this was the brother of Jude, and the same that wrote the epistle that bears his name: whether he was now bishop or pastor of the church at Jerusalem, is not certain; nor whether he was president in this council; the speeches made in it do not appear to be directed to him: he began his oration thus,

saying, men and brethren, hearken to me; the titles he uses, and the manner of desiring audience, were what were common with the Jews; see Acts 2:14.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

James answered - James the Less, son of Alpheus. See the notes on Acts 12:1.

Hearken unto me - This whole transaction shows that Peter had no such authority in the church as the papists pretend, for otherwise his opinion would have been followed without debate. James had an authority not less than that of Peter. It is possible that he might have been next in age (compare 1 Corinthians 15:7); and it seems morally certain that he remained for a considerable part of his life in Jerusalem, Acts 12:17; Acts 21:18; Galatians 1:19; Galatians 2:9, Galatians 2:12.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 15:13. James answered — He was evidently president of the council, and is generally called bishop of Jerusalem. The rest either argued on the subject, or gave their opinion; James alone pronounced the definitive sentence. Had Peter been prince and head of the apostles, and of the Church, he would have appeared here in the character of judge, not of mere counsellor or disputant. Thy popish writers say that "James presided because the council was held in his own church." These men forget that there was not then what they term a Church on the face of the earth. The Church, or assembly of believers, then met in private houses; for there was no building for the exclusive purpose of Christian worship then, nor till long after. These writers also forget that the pope pretends to be the head of the catholic or universal Church; and, consequently, no man can preside where he is present, but himself. Peter did not preside here; and this was the first ecclesiastical council, and now, if ever, he should have assumed his character of prince and chief; but he did not; nor did any of the other apostles invite him to it, which they would have done had they thought that Jesus Christ constituted him head of the Church. From this very circumstance there is the most demonstrative evidence that Peter was no pope, and that the right of his pretended successor is a nonentity.