Acts 15:29

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
that you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating anything that has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you keep yourselves from these things.

King James Version (1611)
That ye abstaine from meates offered to idoles, and from blood, & from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keepe your selues, yee shall doe well. Fare ye well.

King James Version
That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

English Standard Version
that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

New American Standard Bible
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from acts of sexual immorality; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

New Century Version
Stay away from any food that has been offered to idols, eating any animals that have been strangled, and blood, and any kind of sexual sin. If you stay away from these things, you will do well. Good-bye.

Amplified Bible
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from [consuming] blood, and from [eating the meat of] things that have been strangled, and from sexual impurity. If you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well. Farewell."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

Legacy Standard Bible
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, you will do well. Farewell."

Berean Standard Bible
You 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."

Contemporary English Version
But you should not eat anything offered to idols. You should not eat any meat that still has the blood in it or any meat of any animal that has been strangled. You must also not commit any terrible sexual sins. If you follow these instructions, you will do well. We send our best wishes.

Complete Jewish Bible
to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will be doing the right thing. Shalom!

Darby Translation
to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication; keeping yourselves from which ye will do well. Farewell.

Easy-to-Read Version
Don't eat food that has been given to idols. Don't eat meat from animals that have been strangled or any meat that still has the blood in it. Don't be involved in sexual sin. If you stay away from these, you will do well. We say goodbye now.

Geneva Bible (1587)
That is, that ye absteine from things offered to idoles, and blood, and that that is strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keepe your selues, ye shall doe well. Fare ye well.

George Lamsa Translation
That you abstain from sacrifices offered to idols, and from blood, and from animals strangled, and from fornication: when you keep yourselves from these things, you will do well. Remain steadfast in our LORD.

Good News Translation
eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from sexual immorality. You will do well if you take care not to do these things. With our best wishes."

Lexham English Bible
that you abstain from food sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these things you will do well. Farewell.

Literal Translation
To hold back from idol sacrifices, and blood, and that strangled, and from fornication; from which continually keeping yourselves, you will do well. Be prospered.

American Standard Version
that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.

Bible in Basic English
To keep from things offered to false gods, and from blood, and from things put to death in ways which are against the law, and from the evil desires of the body; if you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. May you be happy.

Hebrew Names Version
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell."

International Standard Version
to keep away from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from anything strangled,from anything strangled">[fn] and from sexual immorality. If you avoid these things, you will prosper. Goodbye."Leviticus 17:14; Acts 15:20; 21:25; Revelation 2:14,20;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
that you abstain from that which hath been sacrificed (to idols), and from blood, and from that which is strangled, and from fornication; and while you keep yourselves from these, you will be well. Be confirmed in our Lord.

Murdock Translation
that ye keep aloof from a sacrifice [fn] , and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from whoredom. And if ye keep yourselves from these, ye will do well. Be ye steadfast in the Lord.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
That ye abstayne from thynges offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication: From which yf ye kepe your selues, ye shall do well. So fare ye well.

English Revised Version
that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.

World English Bible
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell."

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
and things strangled and fornication; from which keeping yourselves ye will do well. Fare ye well.

Weymouth's New Testament
You must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. Keep yourselves clear of these things, and it will be well with you. Farewell."

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
that ye absteyne you fro the offrid thingis of maumetis, and blood stranglid, and fornicacioun. Fro whiche ye kepinge you, schulen do wel. Fare ye wel.

Update Bible Version
that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if you keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Farewell.

Webster's Bible Translation
That ye abstain from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from lewdness: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye will do well. Fare ye well.

New English Translation
that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.

New King James Version
that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. [fn] If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.

New Living Translation
You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell."

New Life Bible
You are to keep away from everything that is given to gods. Do not eat blood or meat from animals that have been killed in ways against the Law. Keep away from sex sins. If you keep yourselves free from these things you will do well. Good-by."

New Revised Standard
that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
To be abstaining from idol sacrifices, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication, - From which, if ye keep yourselves, ye shall prosper. Fare ye well.

Douay-Rheims Bible
That you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication: from which things keeping yourselves, you shall do well. Fare ye well.

Revised Standard Version
that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from unchastity. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
that is to saye that ye abstayne from thinges offered to ymages from bloud from strangled and fornicacion. From which yf ye kepe youre selves ye shall do well. So fare ye well.

Young's Literal Translation
to abstain from things offered to idols, and blood, and a strangled thing, and whoredom; from which keeping yourselves, ye shall do well; be strong!'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
That ye absteyne from the offeringes of Idols, and from bloude, and from strangled, and from whordome. From the which yf ye absteyne youre selues, ye shal do well. Fare ye well.

Mace New Testament (1729)
that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the flesh of strangled animals, and from fornication: you will do well to preserve your selves from these practices. farewel.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Don't eat meat from sacrificed animals. Don't consume blood or the meat of strangled animals. And stay away from sexual perversions. If you do this, you will be riding good. Adios, amigos!"

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

ye abstain: Acts 15:20, Acts 21:25, Leviticus 17:14, Romans 14:14, Romans 14:15, Romans 14:20, Romans 14:21, 1 Corinthians 10:18-20, Revelation 2:14, Revelation 2:20

if ye: 2 Corinthians 11:9, 1 Timothy 5:22, James 1:27, 1 John 5:21, Jude 1:20, Jude 1:21, Jude 1:24

Fare: Acts 18:21, Acts 23:30, Luke 9:61, 2 Corinthians 13:11

Reciprocal: Genesis 9:4 - the life Leviticus 3:17 - blood Leviticus 7:26 - ye shall eat Leviticus 11:8 - they are unclean Leviticus 17:10 - that eateth Deuteronomy 12:16 - General 1 Samuel 14:32 - did eat Ezekiel 33:25 - Ye eat Acts 10:15 - What Acts 16:4 - they delivered 1 Corinthians 5:1 - fornication 1 Corinthians 8:1 - touching Galatians 2:14 - why 1 Thessalonians 4:3 - that 1 Timothy 4:4 - and Hebrews 12:16 - any fornicator 1 Peter 2:11 - abstain 2 Peter 1:19 - ye do 3 John 1:6 - do well

Gill's Notes on the Bible

That ye abstain from meats offered to idols,.... Which explains what is meant by pollutions of idols, Acts 15:20

and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication Acts 15:20- :

In Beza's most ancient copy, and in three other manuscripts, and in the Complutensian edition, it follows, "and whatsoever ye would not have done to yourselves, that do ye not to another"; in like manner the Ethiopic version also reads, as in Acts 15:20 "from which if ye keep yourselves ye shall do well"; it will be doing a good thing, and make for the peace of the churches; in Beza's most ancient copy it is added, "born", or "moved by the Holy Ghost": being influenced and assisted by him in this, and every good work:

fare ye well; the Syriac version adds, "in our Lord".

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

From meats offered to idols - This explains what is meant by “pollutions of idols,” Acts 15:20.

Ye shall do well - You will do what ought to be done in regard to the subjects of dispute.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 29. Ye shall do well. — But, if they did not keep themselves from these things, they would do ill; that is, they would sin against God, whose Spirit had commanded them to keep from these things. And who can do any of these forbidden things, and keep either a guiltless or a tender conscience?

Fare-well. — An old English form of expressing good wishes and good will. It is compounded of [Anglo-Saxon] to go, and [A.S.], much, well, very much. Go well, go prosperously!-tantamount with good speed! may you succeed well! may God direct you! Like to that other form of sound words, God be with you! corrupted now into good by to ye! And of the same meaning with adieu! a Dieu, to God; that is, I commend you to God. All these terms savour not only of good will, or benevolence, but also of piety. Our pious ancestors believed that nothing was safe, nothing protected, nothing prosperous, over which the shield of God was not extended; and, therefore, in their familiar good wishes, they gave each other to God. The Greek word ερρωσθε, errhosthe, here used, from ρωννυμι, to strengthen, make strong, has nearly the same signification: be strong, courageous, active, be in health, and be prosperous! What a pity that such benevolent and pious wishes should degenerate into cool formalities, or unmeaning compliments!