Passage

Acts 15.18

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

16. After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: 17. That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called,

18. Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old.

Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God; 20. but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. (Acts 15:16-20, ASV)

WEB

16. ‘After these things I will return. I will again build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen. I will again build its ruins. I will set it up, 17. That the rest of men may seek after the Lord; all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who does all these things.

18. All of God’s works are known to him from eternity.’

“Therefore my judgment is that we don’t trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20. but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood. (Acts 15:16-20, WEB)

KJV

16. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17. That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

18. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: 20. But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. (Acts 15:16-20, KJV)

YLT

16. After these things I will turn back, and I will build again the tabernacle of David, that is fallen down, and its ruins I will build again, and will set it upright 17. that the residue of men may seek after the Lord, and all the nations, upon whom My name hath been called, saith the Lord, who is doing all these things.

18. 'Known from the ages to God are all His works;

wherefore I judge: not to trouble those who from the nations do turn back to God, 20. but to write to them to abstain from the pollutions of the idols, and the whoredom, and the strangled thing; and the blood; (Acts 15:16-20, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: James the brother of the Lord, giving his judgment at the Jerusalem council, as reported by Luke.
Audience: The apostles, elders and assembled church in Jerusalem, with Paul, Barnabas and the delegation from Antioch.
Location: Jerusalem.
Time period: The Jerusalem council, c. AD 48-49.

Theological reading

"Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old." (Acts 15:18, ASV)

The end of James's quotation. After Peter, Barnabas and Paul have spoken, James appeals to Scripture: "to this agree the words of the prophets" (15:15, KJV). He quotes Amos 9:11-12, God's promise to rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David so that the Gentiles, "upon whom my name is called," may seek the Lord. Verse 18 closes the quotation with a phrase that is not in Amos. Many commentators hear an echo of Isaiah 45:21, where the Lord asks who "hath declared this from ancient time" (KJV).

Two textual forms. The ASV reads a short text: the Lord "maketh these things known from of old." The KJV, following later manuscripts, reads a fuller sentence: "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." The short form ties the verse to the prophecy: the Gentile inclusion now happening was announced long ago. The longer form states the general principle behind it: God foreknows all his works.

Amos in Greek. James's wording follows the Greek Old Testament, where Amos 9:12 speaks of "the residue of men" seeking the Lord. The Hebrew text reads that Israel will "possess the remnant of Edom" (Amos 9:12, KJV). The two forms differ by a small difference in consonants (Edom and adam, "mankind"), and scholars debate how the Greek arose. James's point survives either form: the restored house of David includes "all the heathen, which are called by my name" (Amos 9:12, KJV).

Not a surprise to God. In both textual forms, the inclusion of the Gentiles is no improvisation after Israel's unbelief. It was God's purpose and was made known beforehand. The God Is Surprised Objection Defeater cites the verse for that reason. See Jerusalem Council and James the Brother of Jesus.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

G0165 - aion, aion, Strong's G0165
G3956 - pas, pas, Strong's G3956
G2316 - theos, theos, Strong's G2316

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

James the Brother of Jesus, via Acts 15.13-21

Lexicon:

G1484 - ethnos, via Acts 15.1-29

Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.