Acts 15:25

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
we have unanimously decided to select men and send them to you along with our dearly loved Barnabas and Paul,

King James Version (1611)
It seemed good vnto vs, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men vnto you, with our beloued Barnabas and Paul,

King James Version
It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

English Standard Version
it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

New American Standard Bible
it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

New Century Version
We have all agreed to choose some messengers and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul—

Amplified Bible
it has been decided by us, having met together, to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

New American Standard Bible (1995)
it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Legacy Standard Bible
it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Berean Standard Bible
So we all agreed to choose men to send you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Contemporary English Version
So we met together and decided to choose some men and to send them to you along with our good friends Barnabas and Paul.

Complete Jewish Bible
So we have decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our dear friends Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul,

Darby Translation
it seemed good to us, having arrived at a common judgment, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Easy-to-Read Version
We have all agreed to choose some men and send them to you. They will be with our dear friends, Barnabas and Paul.

Geneva Bible (1587)
It seemed therefore good to vs, when we were come together with one accord, to send chosen men vnto you, with our beloued Barnabas and Paul,

George Lamsa Translation
Therefore, we have considered the matter while we are assembled, and we have chosen and sent men to you with our beloved Paul and Bar''na-bas,

Good News Translation
And so we have met together and have all agreed to choose some messengers and send them to you. They will go with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

Lexham English Bible
it seemed best to us, having reached a unanimous decision, and having chosen men, to send them to you together with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

Literal Translation
it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to send chosen men to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

American Standard Version
it seemed good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Bible in Basic English
It seemed good to us, having come to an agreement together, to send these men to you, with our well loved Barnabas and Paul,

Hebrew Names Version
it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Bar-Nabba and Sha'ul,

International Standard Version
So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul,

Etheridge Translation
On account of this we have deliberated, all being assembled, and have chosen men and sent them to you, with Paulos and Bar Naba, our beloved;

Murdock Translation
Therefore we all have thought fit, when assembled, to choose and send men to you, with our beloved Paul and Barnabas,

Bishop's Bible (1568)
It seemed therfore to vs a good thing, when we were come together with one accorde, to sende chosen men vnto you, with our beloued Barnabas and Paul,

English Revised Version
it seemed good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

World English Bible
it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
It seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send to you chosen men,

Weymouth's New Testament
we have unanimously decided to select certain men and send them to you in company with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
it pleside to vs gaderid in to oon, to chese men, and sende to you, with oure most dereworthe Barnabas and Poul,

Update Bible Version
it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Webster's Bible Translation
It seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you, with our beloved Barnabas and Paul:

New English Translation
we have unanimously decided to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

New King James Version
it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

New Living Translation
So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

New Life Bible
All of us have wanted to send men to you with our much-loved Paul and Barnabas.

New Revised Standard
we have decided unanimously to choose representatives and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
It seemed good unto us, coming to be of one accord, that we should choose men and send them unto you, with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, -

Douay-Rheims Bible
It hath seemed good to us, being assembled together, to choose out men and to send them unto you, with our well beloved Barnabas and Paul:

Revised Standard Version
it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
It semed therfore to vs a good thinge when we were come to gedder with one accorde to sende chosyn men vnto you with oure beloved Barnabas and Paul

Young's Literal Translation
it seemed good to us, having come together with one accord, chosen men to send unto you, with our beloved Barnabas and Paul --

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
it semed good vnto vs, beynge gathered together with one accorde, to chose out men, and to sende them vnto you, with oure beloued Barnabas and Paul,

Mace New Testament (1729)
we unanimously judg'd it proper to send particular deputies to you, with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Simplified Cowboy Version
We've all got together and came up with a decision about what they were teaching. We've sent some representatives back with Paul and Barnabas,

Contextual Overview

²²Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with this letter: From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Hello! ²⁴We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn't send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they've looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We've sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we've written. ²⁸It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage. These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you! ³⁰And so off they went to Antioch. On arrival, they gathered the church and read the letter. The people were greatly relieved and pleased. Judas and Silas, good preachers both of them, strengthened their new friends with many words of courage and hope. Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them. Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren't alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch. After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let's see how they're doing." Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn't have him; he wasn't about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations. ³⁴To Let Outsiders Inside It wasn't long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: "If you're not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can't be saved." Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem. After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the non-Jewish outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered—it was terrific news! When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. "You have to circumcise the pagan converts," they said. "You must make them keep the Law of Moses." The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: "Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can't be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person's thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him. "So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?" There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop. James broke the silence. "Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets: After this, I'm coming back; I'll rebuild David's ruined house; I'll put all the pieces together again; I'll make it look like new So outsiders who seek will find, so they'll have a place to come to, All the pagan peoples included in what I'm doing. "God said it and now he's doing it. It's no afterthought; he's always known he would do this. "So here is my decision: We're not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We'll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.' This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath." Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with this letter: From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Hello! We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn't send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they've looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We've sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we've written. It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage. These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you! And so off they went to Antioch. On arrival, they gathered the church and read the letter. The people were greatly relieved and pleased. Judas and Silas, good preachers both of them, strengthened their new friends with many words of courage and hope. Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them. ³⁵ Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren't alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

seemed: Acts 15:28, Matthew 11:26, Luke 1:3

being: Acts 15:6, Acts 1:14, Acts 2:1, Acts 2:46, 1 Corinthians 1:10

to send: Acts 15:22, Acts 15:27

our: Romans 16:12, Ephesians 6:21, Colossians 4:7, Colossians 4:9, Philemon 1:16, 2 Peter 3:15

Barnabas: Acts 15:2, Acts 15:35, Galatians 2:9

Reciprocal: Genesis 9:4 - the life Acts 9:27 - Barnabas 2 Corinthians 8:19 - but Galatians 2:1 - Barnabas Galatians 2:7 - when

Gill's Notes on the Bible

It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord,.... Or together; in one place, as the Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it; see Acts 2:1 though certain it is, that as they were in one place, so they were in one mind; and their unanimity was proper to be mentioned, in order to engage a regard to their advice:

to send men chosen unto you; men chosen for this purpose; namely, Judas and Silas:

with our beloved Barnabas and Paul; who are commended thus, partly to express their affection to them; and partly to observe the wisdom of the church at Antioch, in sending two such agreeable persons; and chiefly to testify their approbation of the doctrine and conduct of these two men.