15:28a–29c
The main point of the letter begins here and continues to the end of 15:29c. Indicate that this is the most important part of the letter. One way is to begin a new paragraph here. For example:
26…men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to…
15:28a
The Greek conjunction often translated as “for” introduces this verse. It connects the task of Judas and Silas to confirm the letter with the main point of the letter in 15:28–29. For example:
For (Revised Standard Version)
But in English “For” here implies that 15:28–29 is not the main point. So many English versions do not translate the Greek conjunction.
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as It seemed good refers to thinking or believing something. The Holy Spirit, along with the apostles and elders believed the four rules were right to follow. The Greek word was often used for an official decision of a group or leader. The fact that it is an official decision is probably more important here. For example:
The Holy Spirit and we have decided
-or-
The decision of the Holy Spirit and we ⌊the apostles and elders⌋ is
Also see how you translated the Greek word in 15:22 (“decided”) or 15:25 (“agreed”).
to the Holy Spirit and to us: The Holy Spirit was named first to show that he is more important in this decision than the apostles and elders.
us: The pronoun us refers to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
15:28b
not to burden you with anything: The word burden here refers figuratively to giving difficult tasks. For example:
you should not have a heavy load to carry (New Century Version)
In some languages a literal translation will wrongly refer only to physical burdens. If this is true in your language, translate the meaning of the metaphor. For example:
not to give you any difficult rules
-or-
not require you to do anything that would be difficult
15:28c
beyond these essential requirements: The Greek is literally “except these things of a necessary nature.” Gentile believers needed to follow the four rules to honor God and to live well with their brothers, the Jewish believers. Other ways to translate this are:
beyond these essentials: (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
except what is absolutely essential, namely, (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
It is only these commands that you must obey:
-or-
We only require that you should not do these things:
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