Acts 15:13 - An Understandable Version (2005 edition) Then, after they finished speaking, James [the Lord’s half-brother, See 12:17] spoke up and said, “Brothers, listen to me. More versionsKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Amplified Bible - Classic Edition When they had finished talking, James replied, Brethren, listen to me. American Standard Version (1901) And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Brethren, hearken unto me: Common English Bible When Barnabas and Paul also fell silent, James responded, “Fellow believers, listen to me. Catholic Public Domain Version And after they had been silent, James responded by saying: "Noble brothers, listen to me. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying: Men, brethren, hear me. |
And there were also some women watching all this from a distance. Among them were Mary from Magdala; Mary the mother of the younger James and [his brother] Joseph [i.e., probably the wife of Clopas. See John 19:25]; and Salome [i.e., the mother of James and John and wife of Zebedee. See Matt. 27:56].
[Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, and then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, “[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord’s half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers.” Then he left [them] and went elsewhere.
Symeon [i.e., Peter] reported how God first sent [someone to preach] to the Gentiles in order to reach a group of them [with the Gospel message] for His name.
But Peter [responded by] standing up with the eleven [other] apostles and, lifting up his voice, began to speak. He said, “People of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, listen to what I am saying so you will understand this situation.
“You people of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus from Nazareth was a man whom God [demonstrated] His approval of by powerful deeds, miracles and [supernatural] signs which He accomplished through Jesus in your very presence --- and you all know this!
Brothers, I would like to speak very plainly about the patriarch David [Note: A patriarch was the ruling father of the family]. He died and was buried and his grave can be seen today.
The next day Paul went with us to visit James [the Lord’s half-brother and a leader in the Jerusalem church], with all of the elders [of the Jerusalem church] being present.
And he answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me: Our glorious God appeared to our forefather Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, [even] before he lived in Haran
But [on this trip] I did not see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. [Note: This “James” was not one of the original twelve apostles. See Matt. 10:2-4].
For, before certain [leaders] came from James [i.e., Jesus’ brother, a leader of the Jerusalem church, See Acts 12:17; 15:13-22], he had eaten [a social meal] with some Gentiles. But when these men came, he abruptly discontinued this practice out of fear of the circumcised ones [i.e., out of concern for what the Jews would think of him].
Also, when they perceived that this [special] favor [of preaching to Gentiles] was granted to me, James, Cephas [i.e., Peter] and John, the highly regarded pillars [i.e., leaders of the church] extended to me and Barnabas their right hands [signifying an agreement] to share [in the preaching of the Gospel], with us going to the Gentiles and they going to the circumcised ones [i.e., Jews].
[This letter is from] James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, [who sends] greetings to the twelve tribes which are scattered throughout the world. [Note: This refers to Christians, probably of Jewish descent].
You people [already] know this [or, “you should know this”], my dearly loved brothers. However, every person should be quick to listen, slow to talk and slow in becoming angry.