And certain men  ¹came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers,  ²Unless you are  ³circumcised according to the  ⁴custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

And when no little  ¹dissension and discussion with them came about through Paul and Barnabas, the brothers directed Paul and Barnabas and certain others among them to go up to the apostles and elders in  ²Jerusalem concerning this question.

They therefore, having been sent forward by the  ¹church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail about the turning of the Gentiles; and they brought great joy to all the brothers.

And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared the things that God had done with them.

But certain men from the sect of the  ¹Pharisees who had believed rose up from among them, saying, It is necessary to  ²circumcise them and to charge them to  ³keep the law of Moses.

And the apostles and the elders were  ¹gathered together to see about this matter.

And when much discussion had taken place, Peter rose up and said to them,  ¹Men, brothers, you know that from the  ²early days God chose from among you that through my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

And God, the Knower of hearts, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as also to us;

And He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their  ¹hearts by faith.

Therefore why are you now testing God by placing a  ¹yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

But we believe that through the  ¹grace of the Lord Jesus we are saved in the same way also as they are.

And all the multitude became silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul relating all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

And when they  ¹finished speaking, James answered, saying,  ²Men, brothers, listen to me.

 ¹Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take out from them a people for His name.

And with this the words of the prophets agree, even as it is written,

"After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the  ¹tabernacle of David which has fallen; and I will rebuild its ruins and erect it again,

So that the remainder of men may seek out the Lord, even all the Gentiles  ¹upon whom My name has been called,

Says the Lord, who is making these things known  ¹from of old.”

Therefore I judge that we do not harass those from the Gentiles who are turning to God,

But that we write to them to abstain from the contaminations of idols and fornication and what is strangled and blood.

For  ¹Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who proclaim him in the  ²synagogues, he being read every Sabbath.

It then seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church to choose men from among them to send to Antioch together with Paul and Barnabas: Judas, who is called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,

Writing to them and sending by their hand the following: The apostles and the elder brothers, to the brothers throughout Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are of the Gentiles, rejoice.

Since we have heard that certain ones who went out from among us have troubled you with their words, unsettling your souls, to whom we gave no instruction,

It seemed good to us, having become of one accord, to choose men to send to you together with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

Men who have  ¹risked their  ²lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will report the same things by word of mouth.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

To abstain from things that have been sacrificed to idols and blood and things strangled and fornication, from which if you carefully keep yourselves, you will do well. May you be strong.

So when they had been sent away, they went down to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they handed them the letter.

And when they read it, they rejoiced at the encouragement.

And Judas and Silas, also being  ¹prophets themselves, exhorted the brothers through much speaking and confirmed them.

And when they had spent some time there, they were sent away with peace from the brothers to those who had sent them.

 ¹But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

Now the  ¹prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God, which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them.

At the same time Tattenai the governor beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their companions came to them and spoke to them in this way, Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall?

Then we told them accordingly what the names of the men were who were constructing this building.

But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them, until a report went to Darius; and then an answer was returned by letter concerning it.

This is the copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his companions the officials, who were beyond the River, sent to Darius the king;

They sent a report to him in which was written as follows, To Darius the king, all peace.

Let it be known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is being built with large stones, and timber is being laid in the walls; and this work is being conducted with diligence and prospers in their hands.

Then we asked those elders, speaking to them in this way, Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this wall?

We also asked them their names in order to inform you, so that we might write down the names of the men who were at their head.

And they returned us an answer in this way, saying, We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

But because our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to anger, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away to Babylon.

But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon, King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.

And also the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these King Cyrus took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were given to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;

And he said to him, Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.

Then the same Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God, which is in Jerusalem; and since that time even until now it has been under construction and has not yet been finished.

Now therefore if it seems good to the king, let a search be made in the king's treasure house, which is there in Babylon, to see whether it is the case that a decree was made by King Cyrus for the building of this house of God in Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this.

Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon.

And a scroll was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, and on it this was written as a record:

In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem: Let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices; and let its foundations be raised, its height being sixty cubits, and its width sixty cubits,

With three layers of large stones, and one layer of timber; and let the expenses be given out of the king's house.

And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and brought again to the temple which is in Jerusalem, to its place; and you shall put them in the house of God.

Now therefore, Tattenai the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your companions the officials, in the province beyond the River, keep far away from there.

Leave the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God on its site.

Moreover I make a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of the Jews for the building of this house of God: From the property of the king, even the tribute of the province beyond the River, expenses are to be given in full to these men that the work not cease.

And whatever is needed, young bulls and rams and lambs, for burnt offerings to the God of heaven; also wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the word of the priests who are in Jerusalem, let it be given to them day by day without fail,

That they may offer incense to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

Also I have made a decree that whoever alters this word, timber shall be pulled out from his house, and he shall be lifted up and impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill on account of this.

And may the God who has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who put forth their hand to alter this or to destroy this house of God, which is in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have made a decree; let it be carried out with all diligence.

Then Tattenai the governor beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their companions, carried out everything with all diligence according to what Darius the king had sent order to do.

And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and according to the decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes the king of Persia.

And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

And they offered for the dedication of this house of God one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

And they set the priests in their courses and the Levites in their divisions for the service of God, which is in Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.

And the children of the captivity held the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.

For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then they slaughtered the passover for all the children of the captivity and for their brothers the priests and for themselves.

And the children of Israel who returned from the captivity and all who had separated themselves from the defilement of the nations of the land to join them, to seek Jehovah the God of Israel, ate the passover

And held the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for Jehovah had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the  ¹king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.