But some from the religious party of the Pharisees ¹  who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary ²  to circumcise the Gentiles ³  and to order them to observe ⁴  the law of Moses.”

The ¹  words of the prophets agree ²  with this, as it is written,

What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin,

No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice ¹  is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.

It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with ¹  his father’s wife.

From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to its language, according to their families, by their nations.

Israel will be swallowed up among the nations; they will be like a worthless piece of pottery.

But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.

Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, ¹  and do this before unbelievers?

They mixed in with the nations and learned their ways. ¹ 

Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Then the Jewish leaders ¹  said to one another, “Where is he ²  going to go that we cannot find him? ³  He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed ⁴  among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he? ⁵ 

He said to them, “You know that ¹  it is unlawful ²  for a Jew ³  to associate with or visit a Gentile, ⁴  yet God has shown me that I should call no person ⁵  defiled or ritually unclean. ⁶ 

And we all agree, ¹  our religion contains amazing revelation: ²  He ³  was revealed in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, ⁴  seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Our ¹  ancestors ²  received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors, ³  until the time ⁴  of David.

So Paul stood up, ¹  gestured ²  with his hand and said, “Men of Israel, ³  and you Gentiles who fear God, ⁴  listen:

Brothers, ¹  descendants ²  of Abraham’s family, ³  and those Gentiles among you who fear God, ⁴  the message ⁵  of this salvation has been sent to us.

You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

On the contrary, when they saw ¹  that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised ²  just as Peter was to the circumcised ³ 

This is what the sovereign Lord says: “Look I will raise my hand to the nations; I will raise my signal flag to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.