Passage

Acts 15.20

Book: Acts · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

18. Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old. 19. 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.

For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath. 22. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: (Acts 15:18-22, ASV)

WEB

18. All of God’s works are known to him from eternity.’ 19. “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.

For Moses from generations of old has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” 22. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers. (Acts 15:18-22, WEB)

KJV

18. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. 19. 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.

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. 22. Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: (Acts 15:18-22, KJV)

YLT

18. 'Known from the ages to God are all His works; 19. 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;

for Moses from former generations in every city hath those preaching him, in the synagogues every sabbath being read.' 22. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, chosen men out of themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren (Acts 15:18-22, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: James, giving his judgment to the council
Audience: the apostles, elders, and assembled church
Location: Jerusalem
Time period: c. AD 48-49

Theological reading

James's four abstentions: things polluted by idols, sexual immorality, what is strangled, and blood.

The list has been explained two ways, and the difference matters. On the first, these are the minimum requirements for table fellowship, drawn from the concerns most likely to make shared meals impossible between Jewish and Gentile believers. On the second, they correspond to the requirements laid on the sojourner within Israel in Leviticus 17 and 18, which would make the ruling an application of existing categories rather than an improvisation.

Either way the decisive feature is what the list omits: circumcision and the general obligation of Torah. The council's answer to whether Gentiles must become Jews is no, and the four items are the conditions of common life rather than the terms of membership. See Mosaic Law Binding for True Israelites Objection Defeater.

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.

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Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

Apostolic Age, via Acts 15.19-20
Mosaic Law, via Acts 15.19-20
Petrine Primacy, via Acts 15.13-21
Resurrection of Jesus - Minimal Facts Case, via Acts 15.13-21
Ritual Purity Laws Objection, via Acts 15.19-29

People:

James the Brother of Jesus, via Acts 15.13-21

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.