Translation commentary on Acts 15:1

Some men is intentionally given by Luke as a vague and indefinite reference. The Greek text has “came down from Judea,” but the place to which they came is Antioch, and the Good News Translation has made this information explicit, some men came from Judea to Antioch. This mention of Antioch also serves as a transitional device to link the first part of Chapter 15 to the immediately preceding paragraph.

In this context it is not easy to translate satisfactorily the term brothers. These are, of course, the “fellow believers.” In most languages the Christian community does develop a term for relatives which is applicable to the community of believers, but this may be a highly specialized usage and can create a number of problems. In some situations one must employ an expression which is practically equivalent to “believers who formed a family” or “the family of believers,” since the term brothers implies two essential components of meaning: (1) the close relationship which the members of the Christian community felt for one another and (2) their common faith in Jesus Christ.

Started teaching is a verb tense which indicates action in progress, with emphasis upon the initiation of the action (see also New American Bible, New English Bible, Phillips “began to teach”).

In a language which cannot employ a passive expression one must make some adaptation of the phrase cannot be saved. In general this is rendered as “God will not save you unless…” or even “God cannot save you unless….” (See also 16.30.)

As the Law of Moses requires translates “according to the custom of Moses,” but “the custom of Moses” refers to the requirements of the Mosaic Law (cf. New English Bible “in accordance with Mosaic practice”). As noted previously, the expression the Law of Moses must indicate that this is the law that comes through Moses. It is not the law that he possessed. The equivalent of requires may be rendered as “you must be circumcised just like the Law of Moses says you must.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 15:1

Division 15:1–18:22

The Jerusalem council and the second missionary journey

In this division, the apostles and elders decided that non-Jewish believers did not need to follow the laws of Moses. They gave them only four rules, which they write in a letter. Paul and his co-workers took the letter and encouraged the believers in churches in Syria, Cilicia, Phrygia, and Galatia. They also preached the gospel in the provinces of Macedonia and Achaia. In spite of people opposing them many people believed in the Lord Jesus.

Section 15:1–21

Believers did not have to obey the laws of Moses

In this section, some men began teaching believers in Antioch that all believers had to be circumcised in order for God to save them. (Jewish believers were already circumcised but non-Jewish believers were not.) Paul and Barnabas taught that non-Jewish believers did not have to be circumcised. So Paul and Barnabas disagreed with these men.

Paul and Barnabas, along with others, traveled to Jerusalem to meet with the church leaders there about this disagreement. Along the way they told believers about their missionary trip and how God had saved many non-Jews.

At the meeting the church leaders decided that non-Jewish believers did not have to be circumcised or follow the laws of Moses. The church leaders gave only four rules to observe.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

The church leaders decided that believers did not have to obey the laws of Moses
-or-
The Council at Jerusalem (New International Version)
-or-
Controversy About Moses’ Teachings (God’s Word)
-or-
The leaders decided that circumcision is not required

Paragraph 15:1–5

15:1a

Then: This verse continues the story of Paul and Barnabas’ mission to the Gentiles (Acts 13–14), but starts a new episode. In some languages, you may want to introduce it with a time indicator, like the Berean Standard Bible does with Then. Here are other examples:

Some time later
-or-
One day

There is some contrast from the success in 14:24–28 to the trouble in 15:1–2. Some languages must indicate contrast here. For example:

But (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
But one day

some men came down from Judea: The men probably came from Jerusalem, which is in Judea. The phrase came down indicates that Jerusalem is high and Antioch is low. Jerusalem is in the mountains at about 760 meters (2,500 feet) in elevation. Antioch is about 70 meters (230 feet) in elevation and near the coast. So a traveler would descend from the mountains around Jerusalem to the coast and then travel along the coast to Antioch. It is a journey of about 500 kilometers (300 miles).

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly imply a continuous downhill road to Antioch. If that is true in your language, translate more generally. For example:

Some men came from Judea to Antioch (Good News Translation)
-or-
Some men journeyed/traveled from Judea to Antioch

some men: These men were Jews. The context implies that they were believers. In some languages a literal translation might imply they were not believers. If that is true in your language, include the implied information in your translation. For example:

Some ⌊believers⌋
-or-
Some ⌊Jewish believers⌋

came down from Judea: Some English versions add the phrase “to Antioch” based on 14:26–28. Since this verse begins a new chapter, the phrase is supplied to clearly indicate where the men went.

came down from Judea to Antioch (New International Version)

In some languages it may be enough to only state what is in the Greek, as does the Berean Standard Bible.

were teaching: The verb form used here indicates that this teaching was repeated, perhaps over a short period of time, before Paul and Barnabas heard about it. Another way to indicate this in English is:

started teaching (Good News Translation)

the brothers: Here the word brothers refers to believers in Jesus, both men and women. The word indicates a close relationship because all believers are considered spiritual children of God.

In some languages brothers would be understood as literal brothers. If that is true in your language, you may want to translate differently. For example:

our brothers ⌊and sisters⌋ ⌊who believe⌋ ⌊in Jesus/Christ⌋
-or-
the fellow believers
-or-
the family of believers
-or-
the Lord’s followers (Contemporary English Version)

See how you translated the word brothers in 1:16 or 14:2.

15:1b

you are circumcised: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊someone⌋ circumcises you

you: The Jewish law required the men to be circumcised. In some languages you would refer to both men and women. If that is true in your language, indicate that it only refers to the men. For example:

you ⌊men⌋
-or-
your ⌊men⌋

circumcised: The word circumcised refers to cutting off the loose skin at the end of a boy’s penis. The father or a man who specialized in doing circumcision would perform this operation, usually eight days after the boy’s birth. Among the Jews, circumcision was an important custom that had to be done for every male.

Some languages and cultures will already have a term for this. In others, it will be acceptable to use a word or phrase that means “cut off (or split) the loose skin at the end of a boy’s penis.” If not, it will be necessary to find an acceptable way to describe this event. Some examples are:

some of your skin is cut off
-or-
your skin is ⌊ritually⌋ cut
-or-
someone makes a mark/sign on you by cutting
-or-
you receive the mark/sign ⌊to show you belong to God⌋

In some cultures people do not circumcise babies, and in some cultures they do not circumcise any males. In other cultures circumcision will be done for different reasons than Jewish circumcision. If that is true in your culture, you may want to include a footnote to explain the Jewish custom. An example footnote is:

Circumcision is the cutting off of the fold of the skin at the end of the penis. Every male Jew was required to be circumcised eight days after he was born. Circumcision was the sign that he was a member of the community of Jews with whom God had made the covenant.

If you have translated Luke 1:59, see how you translated this word there. Or see how you translated “circumcision” at Acts 7:8.

according to the custom of Moses: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as custom of Moses is literally “custom of Moses.” God began this custom or practice with Abraham but included it in the laws that he gave to Moses. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

as the Law of Moses requires (Good News Translation)
-or-
according to ⌊what it says in⌋ ⌊the law that God gave to⌋ Moses

15:1c

you cannot be saved: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊God⌋ cannot save you
-or-

⌊God⌋ will not save you

saved: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as saved means “to rescue someone from danger or trouble.” Here it refers to rescuing someone from the spiritual dangers of sin and God’s punishment for sin. In some languages it is necessary or more natural to make explicit what someone is saved from. For example:

saved from sin
-or-
saved from the punishment for sin

See how you translated this word in 2:21 or 11:14.

General Comment on 15:1b–c

In some languages it is more natural to have the clause “you cannot be saved” before the “unless” clause. For example:

1cYou cannot be saved 1bunless you are circumcised according to the custom taught by Moses.

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.