15:1 Now some men came down from Judea ¹  and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised ²  according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate ³  with them, the church ⁴  appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with ⁵  the apostles and elders in Jerusalem ⁶  about this point of disagreement. ⁷  15:3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia ⁸  and Samaria, they were relating at length ⁹  the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy ¹⁰  to all the brothers. 15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received ¹¹  by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported ¹²  all the things God had done with them. ¹³  15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ¹⁴  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ¹⁵  to circumcise the Gentiles ¹⁶  and to order them to observe ¹⁷  the law of Moses.”

15:6 Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate ¹⁸  about this matter. 15:7 After there had been much debate, ¹⁹  Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago ²⁰  God chose ²¹  me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message ²²  of the gospel ²³  and believe. ²⁴  15:8 And God, who knows the heart, ²⁵  has testified ²⁶  to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ²⁷  15:9 and he made no distinction ²⁸  between them and us, cleansing ²⁹  their hearts by faith. 15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test ³⁰  by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke ³¹  that neither our ancestors ³²  nor we have been able to bear? 15:11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through ³³  the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are.” ³⁴ 

15:12 The whole group kept quiet ³⁵  and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs ³⁶  and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 15:13 After they stopped speaking, ³⁷  James replied, ³⁸  “Brothers, listen to me. 15:14 Simeon ³⁹  has explained ⁴⁰  how God first concerned himself ⁴¹  to select ⁴²  from among the Gentiles ⁴³  a people for his name. 15:15 The ⁴⁴  words of the prophets agree ⁴⁵  with this, as it is written,

15:16 ‘After this ⁴⁶  I ⁴⁷  will return,

and I will rebuild the fallen tent ⁴⁸  of David;

I will rebuild its ruins and restore ⁴⁹  it,

15:17 so that the rest of humanity ⁵⁰  may seek the Lord,

namely, ⁵¹  all the Gentiles ⁵²  I have called to be my own,’ ⁵³  says the Lord, ⁵⁴  who makes these things 15:18 known ⁵⁵  from long ago. ⁵⁶ 

15:19 “Therefore I conclude ⁵⁷  that we should not cause extra difficulty ⁵⁸  for those among the Gentiles ⁵⁹  who are turning to God, 15:20 but that we should write them a letter ⁶⁰  telling them to abstain ⁶¹  from things defiled ⁶²  by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled ⁶³  and from blood. 15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ⁶⁴  because he is read aloud ⁶⁵  in the synagogues ⁶⁶  every Sabbath.”

15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided ⁶⁷  to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, ⁶⁸  leaders among the brothers, to Antioch ⁶⁹  with Paul and Barnabas. 15:23 They sent this letter with them: ⁷⁰ 

From the apostles ⁷¹  and elders, your brothers, ⁷²  to the Gentile brothers and sisters ⁷³  in Antioch, ⁷⁴  Syria, ⁷⁵  and Cilicia, greetings! 15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused ⁷⁶  you, upsetting ⁷⁷  your minds ⁷⁸  by what they said, ⁷⁹  15:25 we have unanimously ⁸⁰  decided ⁸¹  to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 15:26 who ⁸²  have risked their lives ⁸³  for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸⁴  15:27 Therefore we are sending ⁸⁵  Judas and Silas ⁸⁶  who will tell you these things themselves in person. ⁸⁷  15:28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us ⁸⁸  not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: ⁸⁹  15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols ⁹⁰  and from blood and from what has been strangled ⁹¹  and from sexual immorality. ⁹²  If you keep yourselves from doing these things, ⁹³  you will do well. Farewell. ⁹⁴ 

15:30 So when they were dismissed, ⁹⁵  they went down to Antioch, ⁹⁶  and after gathering the entire group ⁹⁷  together, they delivered the letter. 15:31 When they read it aloud, ⁹⁸  the people ⁹⁹  rejoiced at its encouragement. ¹⁰⁰  15:32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech. ¹⁰¹  15:33 After ¹⁰²  they had spent some time there, ¹⁰³  they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 15:34 [[EMPTY]] ¹⁰⁴  15:35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, ¹⁰⁵  teaching and proclaiming (along with many others) ¹⁰⁶  the word of the Lord. ¹⁰⁷ 

15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return ¹⁰⁸  and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord ¹⁰⁹  to see how they are doing.” ¹¹⁰  15:37 Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too, 15:38 but Paul insisted ¹¹¹  that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia ¹¹²  and had not accompanied them in the work. 15:39 They had ¹¹³  a sharp disagreement, ¹¹⁴  so that they parted company. Barnabas took along ¹¹⁵  Mark and sailed away to Cyprus, ¹¹⁶  15:40 but Paul chose Silas and set out, commended ¹¹⁷  to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters. ¹¹⁸  15:41 He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening ¹¹⁹  the churches.

20:1 Abraham journeyed from there to the Negev ¹  region and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived as a temporary resident ²  in Gerar, 20:2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3 But God appeared ³  to Abimelech in a dream at night and said to him, “You are as good as dead ⁴  because of the woman you have taken, for she is someone else’s wife.” ⁵ 

20:4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her. He said, “Lord, ⁶  would you really slaughter an innocent nation? ⁷  20:5 Did Abraham ⁸  not say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ⁹  ‘He is my brother.’ I have done this with a clear conscience ¹⁰  and with innocent hands!”

20:6 Then in the dream God replied to him, “Yes, I know that you have done this with a clear conscience. ¹¹  That is why I have kept you ¹²  from sinning against me and why ¹³  I did not allow you to touch her. 20:7 But now give back the man’s wife. Indeed ¹⁴  he is a prophet ¹⁵  and he will pray for you; thus you will live. ¹⁶  But if you don’t give her back, ¹⁷  know that you will surely die ¹⁸  along with all who belong to you.”

20:8 Early in the morning ¹⁹  Abimelech summoned ²⁰  all his servants. When he told them about all these things, ²¹  they ²²  were terrified. 20:9 Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What sin did I commit against you that would cause you to bring such great guilt on me and my kingdom? ²³  You have done things to me that should not be done!” ²⁴  20:10 Then Abimelech asked ²⁵  Abraham, “What prompted you to do this thing?” ²⁶ 

20:11 Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ²⁷  ‘Surely no one fears God in this place. They will kill me because of ²⁸  my wife.’ 20:12 What’s more, ²⁹  she is indeed my sister, my father’s daughter, but not my mother’s daughter. She became my wife. 20:13 When God made me wander ³⁰  from my father’s house, I told her, ‘This is what you can do to show your loyalty to me: ³¹  Every place we go, say about me, “He is my brother.”’”

20:14 So Abimelech gave ³²  sheep, cattle, and male and female servants to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. 20:15 Then Abimelech said, “Look, my land is before you; live wherever you please.” ³³ 

20:16 To Sarah he said, “Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver ³⁴  to your ‘brother.’ ³⁵  This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you.” ³⁶ 

20:17 Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, as well as his wife and female slaves so that they were able to have children. 20:18 For the Lord ³⁷  had caused infertility to strike every woman ³⁸  in the household of Abimelech because he took ³⁹  Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

27:1 When ¹  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ²  he called his older ³  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ⁴  replied.