It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.
Parallel translations
- WEB Because we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law,’ to whom we gave no commandment;
- KJV Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
- NKJV Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law” —to whom we gave no such commandment—
- NASB Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have confused you by their teaching, upsetting your souls,
- NLT “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The letter disowns the troublemakers who had unsettled them without authorization. The Jerusalem church repudiated the false teaching outright.
Overview
The apostles make clear they never commissioned those who demanded circumcision and law-keeping. The agitators had 'troubled' and 'unsettled' souls, the very harm the council acts to correct. This disavowal protects the gospel of grace and reassures the Gentile believers of their secure standing.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Gal 5:12As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!
- Gal 5:10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.
- Acts 15:1Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
- Titus 1:10–11For many are rebellious and full of empty talk and deception, especially those of the circumcision,
- Gal 1:7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
- Gal 6:12–13Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.
- Gal 2:3–4Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
- 1 Jn 2:19They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But their departure made it clear that none of them belonged to us.
- 2 Tim 2:14Remind the believers of these things, charging them before God to avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.
- Jer 23:16This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
- Acts 15:9–10He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith.
- Gal 5:4You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 15:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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