Acts 15:15

Simplified Cowboy Version

Gathering and branding these unbranded mavericks is exactly what the Good Book predicted when it said,

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
And the words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

King James Version (1611)
And to this agree the words of the Prophets, as it is written,

King James Version
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

English Standard Version
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

New American Standard Bible
"The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written:

New Century Version
The words of the prophets agree with this too:

Amplified Bible
"The words of the Prophets agree with this, just as it is written [in Scripture],

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

Legacy Standard Bible
And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,

Berean Standard Bible
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:

Contemporary English Version
This agrees with what the prophets wrote,

Complete Jewish Bible
And the words of the Prophets are in complete harmony with this for it is written,

Darby Translation
And with this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written:

Easy-to-Read Version
The words of the prophets agree with this too:

Geneva Bible (1587)
And to this agree the woordes of the Prophets, as it is written,

George Lamsa Translation
And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,

Good News Translation
The words of the prophets agree completely with this. As the scripture says,

Lexham English Bible
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

Literal Translation
And with this agree the Words of the prophets, as it has been written,

American Standard Version
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

Bible in Basic English
And this is in agreement with the words of the prophets, as it is said,

Hebrew Names Version
This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,

International Standard Version
This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,

Etheridge Translation
And with this accord the words of the prophets; as when it is written,

Murdock Translation
And with this the words of the prophets accord, as it is written:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And to this agree the wordes of the prophetes, as it is written:

English Revised Version
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

World English Bible
This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written, After this I will return and build again the fallen tabernacle of David;

Weymouth's New Testament
And this is in harmony with the language of the Prophets, which says:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the wordis of prophetis acorden to him,

Update Bible Version
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

Webster's Bible Translation
And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

New English Translation
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written,

New King James Version
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

New Living Translation
And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:

New Life Bible
This agrees with what the early preacher said,

New Revised Standard
This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, with this, agree the words of the prophets, according as it is written -

Douay-Rheims Bible
And to this agree the words of the prophets, as it is written:

Revised Standard Version
And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And to this agreith ye wordes of ye Prophetes as it is written.

Young's Literal Translation
and to this agree the words of the prophets, as it hath been written:

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And vnto this agree ye wordes of the prophetes, as it is wrytte:

Mace New Testament (1729)
and this is agreeable to the oracles of the prophets: as it is written,

THE MESSAGE
To 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. 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.

Contextual Overview

⁶So the jigger bosses, along with Jesus's handpicked cowboys, met together to come up with a decision on the matter. ⁷Everyone spoke for a long time and then Pete stood up and said, "Brothers, you all know God chose me a long time ago to go out and gather the unbranded Gentiles. He was pulling them into his herd, and they believed in him. ⁸God knows all people's hearts, and he branded these mavericks with the Holy Spirit just like he did us. ⁹He didn't check their pickles, just their faith . . . and he washed 'em clean of their sins. ¹⁰So here's my question, cowboys. Why are y'all now bucking the way God does things and putting a load on the new cowboys' backs that we couldn't carry ourselves? We couldn't follow the code of Moses either, but you want these new cowboys to do what can't be done? That's insane! ¹¹We are saved by what Jesus did, not by what we do. That's the grace of God. And we are all saved the same way." ¹²You could have heard a pin drop as Paul and Barnabas talked about the miracles God had performed while they were gathering mavericks up north. ¹³When they were done, Jesus's brother James stood up and said, "Listen to me, boys. ¹⁴Pete talked to you about how God first decided he was going to bring the unbranded mavericks into his herd for himself. ¹⁵Gathering and branding these unbranded mavericks is exactly what the Good Book predicted when it said,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Acts 13:47, Romans 15:8-12

Reciprocal: Daniel 10:21 - I will Amos 9:11 - that day Galatians 3:8 - foreseeing 1 John 5:8 - and these

Cross-References

Matthew 22:32
'I'm the Boss of Abraham, the first ramrod of my outfit, and of all his sons.' My Dad isn't the Boss of the dead, but of those who are alive!"

Acts 13:36
"When David's ride for God was done, he fell asleep and was buried with his granddaddies. His body has decayed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And to this agree the words of the prophets,.... In several of the prophecies of the Old Testament, which plainly speak of the calling of the Gentiles; though James thought it sufficient to produce only one instead of many:

as it is written; in Amos 9:11 and this is agreeably to the Jewish way of citing Scriptures, as Surenhusius observes; so it is said q, in twenty four places the priests are called Levites, and this is one of them, Ezekiel 44:15 where only one place is mentioned, instead of the twenty four.

q T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 86, 2. & Beracot, fol. 4. 1, 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The words of the prophets - Amos 9:11-12. It was a very material point with them, as Jews, to inquire whether this was in accordance with the predictions of the Scriptures. The most powerful revivals of religion, and the most striking demonstrations of the divine presence, will be in accordance with the Bible, and should be tested by them. This habit was always manifested by the apostles and early Christians, and should be followed by Christians at all times. Unless a supposed work of grace accords with the Bible, and can be defended by it, it must be false, and should be opposed. Compare Isaiah 8:20.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 15:15. And to this agree the words of the prophets — Peter had asserted the fact of the conversion of the Gentiles; and James shows that that fact was the fulfilment of declarations made by the prophets.