15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided 1 to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, 2 leaders among the brothers, to Antioch 3 with Paul and Barnabas. 15:23 They sent this letter with them: 4
From the apostles 5 and elders, your brothers, 6 to the Gentile brothers and sisters 7 in Antioch, 8 Syria, 9 and Cilicia, greetings!
15:30 So when they were dismissed, 10 they went down to Antioch, 11 and after gathering the entire group 12 together, they delivered the letter.
1 tn BDAG 255 s.v. δοκέω 2.b.β lists this verse under the meaning “it seems best to me, I decide, I resolve.”
2 sn Silas. See 2 Cor 1:19; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1 (= Silvanus).
3 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
map For location see JP1-F2; JP2-F2; JP3-F2; JP4-F2.
4 tn Grk “writing by their hand” (an idiom for sending a letter).
5 tn Grk “The apostles.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
6 tn Grk “brothers,” but “your” is supplied to specify the relationship, since without it “brothers” could be understood as vocative in English.
7 tn Grk “to the brothers who are from the Gentiles.”
8 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
9 tn Grk “and Syria,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
10 tn Or “sent away.”
11 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
12 tn Or “congregation” (referring to the group of believers).
13 sn Antioch was a city in Syria (not Antioch in Pisidia).
14 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
15 sn The word of the Lord is a technical expression in OT literature, often referring to a divine prophetic utterance (e.g., Gen 15:1, Isa 1:10, Jonah 1:1). In the NT it occurs 15 times: 3 times as ῥῆμα τοῦ κυρίου (rJhma tou kuriou; Luke 22:61, Acts 11:16, 1 Pet 1:25) and 12 times as λόγος τοῦ κυρίου (logo" tou kuriou; here and in v. 36; Acts 8:25; 13:44, 48, 49; 16:32; 19:10, 20; 1 Thess 1:8, 4:15; 2 Thess 3:1). As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of what has been said.