Acts 15:13-21

13When they had finished their report, James spoke to the group. He said, ‘Listen to me, my friends.

14Simon Peter has just described to us what happened first with the Gentile believers. He explained how God chose some of them to belong to him as his own people.

15The message of God's prophets agrees completely with this. They wrote long ago:

16The Lord God said, “Later I will return. At that time I will make David's kingdom strong again. It has become like a house that has fallen down, but I will build it again so that it is strong.

17Then many other people will want to know me, the Lord God. Those are the Gentiles that I have chosen to belong to me. I, the Lord God, say this, and I will make these things happen.

18Long ago I caused people to know all these things.” ’

19James then said, ‘So this is what I have decided about this problem. Many Gentiles are now turning to God as believers. We should not make it difficult for them.

20Instead of that, we should write a letter to tell them how to live as believers. We should say to them, “Do not eat any food which people have given to their idols. That food has become unclean. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it.”

21These rules are important, because people have known the Law of Moses for a very long time. On every Jewish day of rest, someone teaches us about the Law in our Jewish meeting places in every city.’