»For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death–nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town;«
On getting there he was delighted to see the grace which God had bestowed; and he encouraged them all to remain, with fixed resolve, faithful to the Lord.
Now there were in Antioch, in the Church there –as Prophets and teachers– barnabas, Symeon surnamed `the black,' Lucius the Cyrenaean, Manaen (who was Herod the Tetrarch's foster-brother), and Saul.
Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, »It is through many afflictions that we must make our way into the Kingdom of God.«
But certain persons who had come down from Judaea tried to convince the brethren, saying, »Unless you are circumcised in accordance with the Mosaic custom, you cannot be saved.«
Thereupon it was decided by the Apostles and Elders, with the approval of the whole Church, to choose suitable persons from among themselves and send them to Antioch, with Paul and Barnabas. Judas, called Bar-sabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, were selected,
So they set out, being accompanied for a short distance by some other members of the Church; and as they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told the whole story of the conversion of the Gentiles and inspired all the brethren with great joy.
But since we have special gifts which differ in accordance with the diversified work graciously entrusted to us, if it is prophecy, let the prophet speak in exact proportion to his faith;
The teacher must do the same in his teaching; and he who exhorts others, in his exhortation. He who gives should be liberal; he who is in authority should be energetic and alert; and he who succours the afflicted should do it cheerfully.
and sent Timothy our brother and God's minister in the service of Christ's Good News, that he might help you spiritually and encourage you in your faith;
Moreover, brethren, as you learnt from our lips the lives which you ought to live, and do live, so as to please God, we beg and exhort you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live them more and more truly.
To persons of that sort our injunction –and our command by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ– is that they are to work quietly and eat their own honestly-earned bread.
So I exhort the Elders among you–I who am their fellow Elder and have been an eye-witness of the sufferings of the Christ, and am also a sharer in the glory which is soon to be revealed.
And God, the giver of all grace, who has called you to share His eternal glory, through Christ, after you have suffered for a short time, will Himself make you perfect, firm, and strong.
I send this short letter by Silas, our faithful brother –for such I regard him– in order to encourage you, and to bear witness that what I have told you is the true grace of God. In it stand fast.