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This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)
Sometime after this there was a Jewish Festival; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. There is in Jerusalem, near the sheep-gate, a bath with five colonnades around it. It is called in Hebrew âBethesda.â In these colonnades a large number of sick people were lying â blind, lame, and crippled. [Some later manuscripts add: for an angel of the Lord went down at certain times into the pool, and stirred up the water. The first person to step in after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease they had. ] One man who was there had been crippled for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw the man lying there, and, finding that he had been in this state a long time, said to him, âDo you wish to be cured?â
âI have no one, Sir,â the sick man answered, âto put me into the bath when there is a troubling of the water, and, while I am getting to it, someone else steps down before me.â
âStand up,â said Jesus, âtake up your mat, and walk.â The man was cured immediately, and took up his mat and began walking. Now it was the Sabbath. So the religious authorities said to the man who had been cured, âThis is the Sabbath; you must not carry your mat.â
âThe man who cured me,â he answered, âsaid to me âTake up your mat and walk.ââ
âWho was it,â they asked, âthat said to you âTake up your mat and walkâ?â But the man who had been restored did not know who it was; for Jesus had moved away, because there was a crowd there. Afterward Jesus found the man in the Temple Courts, and said to him, âYou are cured now; do not sin again, or something worse may happen to you.â
The man went away, and told the authorities that it was Jesus who had cured him. And that was why they began to persecute Jesus â because he did things of this kind on the Sabbath. But Jesus replied, âMy Father works to this very hour, and I work also.â This made the authorities all the more eager to kill him, because not only was he doing away with the Sabbath, but he actually called God his own Father â putting himself on an equality with God.
So Jesus made this further reply, âIn truth I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself; he does only what he sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does, the Son does also. For the Father loves his Son, and shows him everything that he is doing; and he will show him still greater things â so that you will be filled with wonder. For, just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he pleases. The Father himself does not judge any one, but has entrusted the work of judging entirely to his Son, so that everyone may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. The person who does not honour the Son fails to honour the Father who sent him. In truth I tell you that the person who listens to my message and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come under condemnation, but has already passed out of death into life. In truth I tell you that a time is coming, indeed it is already here, when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and when those who listen will live. For, just as the Father has inherent life within him, so also he has granted to the Son to have inherent life within him; and, because he is Son of Man, he has also given him authority to act as judge. Do not wonder at this; for the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice, and will come out â those who have done good rising to life, and those who have lived evil lives rising for condemnation. I can do nothing of myself; I judge as I am taught; and the judgment that I give is just, because my aim is not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
âIf I bear testimony to myself, my testimony is not trustworthy; it is another who bears testimony to me, and I know that the testimony which he bears to me is trustworthy. You have yourselves sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from people; I am saying this for your salvation. He was the Lamp that was burning and shining, and you were ready to rejoice, for a time, in his light. But the testimony which I have is of greater weight than Johnâs; for the work that the Father has given me to carry out â the work that I am doing â is in itself proof that the Father has sent me as his messenger. The Father who has sent me has himself borne testimony to me. You have neither listened to his voice, not seen his form; and you have not taken his message home to your hearts, because you do not believe him whom he sent as his messenger. You search the scriptures, because you think that you find in them immortal life; and, though it is those scriptures that bear testimony to me, you refuse to come to me to have life.
âI do not receive honor from people, but I know this of you, that you have not the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Fatherâs name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe in me, when you receive honor from one another and do not desire the honor which comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have been resting your hopes. For, had you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for it was of me that Moses wrote; but, if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my teaching?â (OEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
When Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his elder son, and said to him, âMy son?â
He said to him, âHere I am.â
He said, âSee now, I am old. I donât know the day of my death. Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and get me venison. Make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless you before I die.â
Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, âBehold, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, âBring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless you before Yahweh before my death.â Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command you. Go now to the flock and get me two good young goats from there. I will make them savory food for your father, such as he loves. You shall bring it to your father, that he may eat, so that he may bless you before his death.â
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, âBehold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. What if my father touches me? I will seem to him as a deceiver, and I would bring a curse on myself, and not a blessing.â
His mother said to him, âLet your curse be on me, my son. Only obey my voice, and go get them for me.â
He went, and got them, and brought them to his mother. His mother made savory food, such as his father loved. Rebekah took the good clothes of Esau, her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son. She put the skins of the young goats on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck. She gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
He came to his father, and said, âMy father?â
He said, âHere I am. Who are you, my son?â
Jacob said to his father, âI am Esau your firstborn. I have done what you asked me to do. Please arise, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.â
Isaac said to his son, âHow is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?â
He said, âBecause Yahweh your God gave me success.â
Isaac said to Jacob, âPlease come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.â
Jacob went near to Isaac his father. He felt him, and said, âThe voice is Jacobâs voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.â He didnât recognize him, because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esauâs hands. So he blessed him. He said, âAre you really my son Esau?â
He said, âI am.â
He said, âBring it near to me, and I will eat of my sonâs venison, that my soul may bless you.â
He brought it near to him, and he ate. He brought him wine, and he drank. His father Isaac said to him, âCome near now, and kiss me, my son.â He came near, and kissed him. He smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him, and said,
âBehold, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field which Yahweh has blessed.
God give you of the dew of the sky,
of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers.
Let your motherâs sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you.
Blessed be everyone who blesses you.â
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had just gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. He also made savory food, and brought it to his father. He said to his father, âLet my father arise, and eat of his sonâs venison, that your soul may bless me.â
Isaac his father said to him, âWho are you?â
He said, âI am your son, your firstborn, Esau.â
Isaac trembled violently, and said, âWho, then, is he who has taken venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you came, and have blessed him? Yes, he will be blessed.â
When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, âBless me, even me also, my father.â
He said, âYour brother came with deceit, and has taken away your blessing.â
He said, âIsnât he rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright. See, now he has taken away my blessing.â He said, âHavenât you reserved a blessing for me?â
Isaac answered Esau, âBehold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants. I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then will I do for you, my son?â
Esau said to his father, âDo you have just one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father.â Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
Isaac his father answered him,
âBehold, your dwelling will be of the fatness of the earth,
and of the dew of the sky from above.
You will live by your sword, and you will serve your brother.
It will happen, when you will break loose,
that you will shake his yoke from off your neck.â
Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, âThe days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.â
The words of Esau, her elder son, were told to Rebekah. She sent and called Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, âBehold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban, my brother, in Haran. Stay with him a few days, until your brotherâs fury turns away â until your brotherâs anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send, and get you from there. Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?â
Rebekah said to Isaac, âI am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?â (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience. We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ â by grace you have been saved â and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus; for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called âuncircumcisionâ by that which is called âcircumcisionâ (in the flesh, made by hands), that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility through it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments. For this is loving God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three who testify: [Only a few recent manuscripts add âin heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth:â ] the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and the three agree as one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is Godâs testimony which he has testified concerning his Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesnât believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. The testimony is this: that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesnât have Godâs Son doesnât have the life.
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us. And if we know that he listens to us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.
If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for those who sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I donât say that he should make a request concerning this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
We know that whoever is born of God doesnât sin, but he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesnât touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. We know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (WEB)
Psalm 40:8; 1 John 5:3: I Delight To Do Thy Will
1 John 5:14-15: This Is The Confidence
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
âIsnât a man forced to labor on earth?
Arenât his days like the days of a hired hand?
As a servant who earnestly desires the shadow,
as a hireling who looks for his wages,
so I am made to possess months of misery,
wearisome nights are appointed to me.
When I lie down, I say,
âWhen will I arise, and the night be gone?â
I toss and turn until the dawning of the day.
My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust.
My skin closes up, and breaks out afresh.
My days are swifter than a weaverâs shuttle,
and are spent without hope.
Oh remember that my life is a breath.
My eye will no more see good.
The eye of him who sees me will see me no more.
Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.
As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away,
so he who goes down to Sheol [Sheol is the place of the dead. ]will come up no more.
He will return no more to his house,
neither will his place know him any more.
âTherefore I will not keep silent.
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit.
I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
Am I a sea, or a sea monster,
that you put a guard over me?
When I say, âMy bed will comfort me.
My couch will ease my complaint,â
then you scare me with dreams
and terrify me through visions,
so that my soul chooses strangling,
death rather than my bones.
I loathe my life.
I donât want to live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.
What is man, that you should magnify him,
that you should set your mind on him,
that you should visit him every morning,
and test him every moment?
How long will you not look away from me,
nor leave me alone until I swallow down my spittle?
If I have sinned, what do I do to you, you watcher of men?
Why have you set me as a mark for you,
so that I am a burden to myself?
Why do you not pardon my disobedience, and take away my iniquity?
For now will I lie down in the dust.
You will seek me diligently, but I will not be.â (WEB)
This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)
Those who trust in the Lá´Ęá´
are like Mount Zion,
that cannot be moved,
but abides forever.
Round Jerusalem are the mountains,
and the Lá´Ęá´ is round his people
from now and for evermore.
For he will not suffer
the sceptre of wrong
to rest on the land
allotted to the righteous;
else the righteous might put forth
their own hand to evil.
Do good, O Lá´Ęá´ ,
to the good,
and to the true-hearted.
But those who swerve
into crooked ways
will the Lá´Ęá´ lead away
with the workers of evil.
Peace be upon Israel.
(OEB)
This content pulled from bible.org.
My child, devote yourself to my wordsand store up my commands inside yourself. Keep my commands so that you may live, and obey my instruction as your most prized possession. Bind them on your forearm; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, âYou are my sister,â and call understanding a close relative so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman, from the loose woman who has flattered you with her words. For at the window of my housethrough my window lattice I looked out, and I saw among the naiveâI discerned among the youthsâa young man who lacked sense. He was passing by the street near her corner,making his way along the road to her house in the twilight, the evening, in the dark of the night. Suddenly a woman came out to meet him!She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent. (She is loud and rebellious;she does not remain at homeâ at one time outside, at another in the wide plazas,and by every corner she lies in wait.) So she grabbed him and kissed him,and with a bold expression she said to him, âI have meat from my peace offerings at home; today I have fulfilled my vows! That is why I came out to meet you,to look for you, and I found you! I have spread my bed with elegant coverings, with richly colored fabric from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, letâs drink deeply of lovemaking until morning;letâs delight ourselves with loveâs pleasures. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a journey of some distance. He has taken a bag of money with him; he will not return until the end of the month.â She turned him aside with her persuasions; with her smooth talk she was enticing him along. Suddenly he was going after herlike an ox that goes to the slaughter,like a stag prancing into a trapperâs snare till an arrow pierces his liverâlike a bird hurrying into a trap,and he does not know that it will cost him his life. So now, sons, listen to me,and pay attention to the words I speak. Do not let your heart turn aside to her waysâdo not wander into her pathways; for she has brought down many fatally wounded,and all those she has slain are many. Her house is the way to the grave, going down to the chambers of death.
(NET)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
The word of Samuel came to all Israel.
Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and encamped beside Ebenezer; and the Philistines encamped in Aphek. The Philistines put themselves in array against Israel. When they joined battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in the field. When the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, âWhy has Yahweh defeated us today before the Philistines? Letâs get the ark of Yahwehâs covenant out of Shiloh and bring it to us, that it may come among us and save us out of the hand of our enemies.â
So the people sent to Shiloh, and they brought from there the ark of the covenant of Yahweh of Armies, who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. When the ark of Yahwehâs covenant came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, âWhat does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?â They understood that Yahwehâs ark had come into the camp. The Philistines were afraid, for they said, âGod has come into the camp.â They said, âWoe to us! For there has not been such a thing before. Woe to us! Who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. Be strong and behave like men, O you Philistines, that you not be servants to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Strengthen yourselves like men, and fight!â The Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and each man fled to his tent. There was a very great slaughter; for thirty thousand footmen of Israel fell. Godâs ark was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.
A man of Benjamin ran out of the army and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for Godâs ark. When the man came into the city and told about it, all the city cried out. When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, âWhat does the noise of this tumult mean?â
The man hurried, and came and told Eli. Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see. The man said to Eli, âI am he who came out of the army, and I fled today out of the army.â
He said, âHow did the matter go, my son?â
He who brought the news answered, âIsrael has fled before the Philistines, and there has been also a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and Godâs ark has been captured.â
When he made mention of Godâs ark, Eli fell from off his seat backward by the side of the gate; and his neck broke, and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.
His daughter-in-law, Phinehasâ wife, was with child, near to giving birth. When she heard the news that Godâs ark was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and gave birth; for her pains came on her. About the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, âDonât be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.â But she didnât answer, neither did she regard it. She named the child Ichabod, [âIchabodâ means âno gloryâ. ]saying, âThe glory has departed from Israel!â because Godâs ark was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, âThe glory has departed from Israel; for Godâs ark has been taken.â (WEB)
This content from World English Bible (public domain)
The revelation which Habakkuk the prophet saw. Yahweh, [âYahwehâ is Godâs proper Name, sometimes rendered âLORDâ (all caps) in other translations. ]how long will I cry, and you will not hear? I cry out to you âViolence!â and will you not save? Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails; for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore justice comes out perverted.
âLook among the nations, watch, and wonder marvelously; for I am working a work in your days which you will not believe though it is told you. For, behold, [âBeholdâ, from â×Ö´× ÖľÖź×â, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. ]I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation who march through the width of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs. They are feared and dreaded. Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses also are swifter than leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves. Their horsemen press proudly on. Yes, their horsemen come from afar. They fly as an eagle that hurries to devour. All of them come for violence. Their hordes face forward. They gather prisoners like sand. Yes, they scoff at kings, and princes are a derision to them. They laugh at every stronghold, for they build up an earthen ramp and take it. Then they sweep by like the wind and go on. They are indeed guilty, whose strength is their god.â
Arenât you from everlasting, Yahweh my God, [The Hebrew word rendered âGodâ is â×Öą×Öš×Ö´Ö××â (Elohim). ]my Holy One? We will not die. Yahweh, you have appointed them for judgment. You, Rock, have established him to punish. You who have purer eyes than to see evil, and who cannot look on perversity, why do you tolerate those who deal treacherously and keep silent when the wicked swallows up the man who is more righteous than he, and make men like the fish of the sea, like the creeping things that have no ruler over them? He takes up all of them with the hook. He catches them in his net and gathers them in his dragnet. Therefore he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and burns incense to his dragnet, because by them his life is luxurious and his food is good. Will he therefore continually empty his net, and kill the nations without mercy? (WEB)
This content from OpenEnglishBible (public domain)
But certain persons came down from Judea, and began to teach the Lordâs followers that, unless they were circumcised, in accordance with the custom required by Moses, they could not be saved. This gave rise to a serious dispute, and much discussion, between Paul and Barnabas and these people, and it was therefore settled that Paul and Barnabas and others of their number should go up to Jerusalem, to consult the apostles and church elders about the matter under discussion.
The church, therefore, sent them on their journey, and they made their way through Phoenicia and Samaria, telling the story of the conversion of the Gentiles, to the great joy of all the followers. On their arrival at Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as well as by the apostles and the elders, and gave an account of all that God had helped them to do. Some of the Phariseesâ party, however, who had become believers in Christ, came forward and declared that they were bound to circumcise converts and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses. The apostles and the church elders held a meeting to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter rose and said:
âYou, my friends, know well that long ago God singled me out â that through my lips the Gentiles should hear the message of the good news, and become believers in Christ. Now God, who reads all hearts, declared his acceptance of the Gentiles, by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between them and us, when he purified their hearts by their faith. Why, then, do you now provoke God, by putting on the necks of these disciples a yoke which neither our ancestors nor we were able to bear? No, it is through the loving kindness of the Lord Jesus that we, just as they do, believe that we have been saved.â
Every voice in the assembly was hushed, as they listened to Barnabas and Paul, while they gave an account of all the signs and wonders which God had shown among the Gentiles through them. After they had finished speaking, James addressed the Council.
âFriends,â he began, âhear what I have to say. Simon has described the manner in which God first visited the Gentiles, in order to take from among them a people to bear his name. And that is in harmony with the words of the prophets, where they say â
âAfter this I will return;
and I will rebuild the house of David which has fallen â
its ruins I will rebuild,
and will set it up once more;
that so the rest of mankind may earnestly seek the Lord â
even all the Gentiles on whom my name has been bestowed,
says the Lord, as he does these things, known from long ago.â
In my judgment, therefore, we should not add to the difficulties of those Gentiles who are turning to God, but we should write to them to abstain from food that has been polluted by being sacrificed to idols, from impurity, from eating the flesh of strangled animals, and from blood. For in every town, for generations past, there have been those who preach Moses, read as he is in the synagogues every Sabbath.â
It was then decided by the apostles and the elders, with the assent of the whole church, to choose some of their number, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. Those chosen were Judas (called Barsabas) and Silas, who were leaders among the community. They were bearers of the following letter â
âThe apostles, and the followers who are the church elders, send their greetings to the followers of the Lord of Gentile birth in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. As we had heard that some of our number had upset you by their assertions, and unsettled your minds â without instructions from us â We met and decided to choose certain men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We are accordingly sending Judas and Silas, and they will tell you by word of mouth what we are now writing. We have, therefore, decided, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to lay no further burden on you beyond these necessary conditions â That you abstain from food offered to idols, from blood, from eating the flesh of strangled animals, and from impurity. If you guard yourselves against such things, it will be well with you. Farewell.â
So the bearers of this letter were sent on their way, and went down to Antioch. There they called a meeting of all the followers, and delivered the letter, the reading of which caused great rejoicing by its encouraging contents. Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, further encouraged the them by many an address, and strengthened their faith. After some stay, they were dismissed with kind farewells from the followers, and returned to those who had sent them. [Some later manuscripts add: But Silas decided to stay. ]
Paul and Barnabas, however, remained in Antioch, where they taught and, with the help of many others, told the good news of the Lordâs message. Some time after this, Paul said to Barnabas, âLet us go back and visit the Lordâs followers in every town in which we have told the Lordâs message, and see how they are prospering.â Barnabas wished to take with them John, whose other name was Mark; but Paul felt that they ought not to take with them the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia, and had not gone on with them to their work. This caused such unpleasant feeling between them that they parted ways, Barnabas taking Mark and sailing for Cyprus, while Paul chose Silas for his companion and, after he had been committed by the followers to the gracious care of the Lord, started on his journey and went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches in the faith. (OEB)