Acts 15:16

After this I will return,....

And, when the tabernacle of David was thus rebuilt in Christ, all the rest of it was, not many years after, wholly extirpated and cut off, as was also the nation of the Jews itself, and all their genealogies were lost. The church of Christ may be called the tabernacle of David.

The result of this debate, and the circular letter that was written to the Gentile converts, directing them how to govern themselves with respect to Jews,

After this I will return, and will build again, etc. - These two verses, 16th and 17th, are quoted from Amo 9:11, Amo 9:12, nearly as they now stand in the best editions of the Septuagint, and evidently taken from that version, which differs considerably from the Hebrew text.

Simeon--a Hebrew variation of Simon, as in 2Pe 1:1; (Greek), the Jewish and family name of Peter. hath declared how God at the first--answering to Peter's own expression "a good while ago" (Ac 15:7). did visit the Gentiles to take out of them--in the exercise of His adorable sovereignty. a people for his name--the honor of his name, or for His glory.

After this - This quotation is not made literally either from the Hebrew or the Septuagint, which differs also from the Hebrew. The 17th verse is quoted literally from the Septuagint, but in the 16th the general sense only of the passage is retained. The main point of the quotation, as made by James, was to show that, according to the prophets, it was contemplated that the Gentiles should be introduced to the privileges of the children of God; and on this point the passage has a direct bearing. The prophet Amos Amo 9:8-10 had described the calamities which would come upon the nation of the Jews by their being scattered and driven away. This implied that the city of Jerusalem, the temple, and the walls of the city would be destroyed. But after that (Heb: “on that day,” Amo 9:11, that is, the day when he should revisit them and recover them) he would restore them to their former privileges - would rebuild their temple, their city, and their walls, Amo 9:11. And not only so, not only would the blessing descend on the Jews, but it would also be extended to others. The “remnant of Edom,” “the pagan upon whom” his “name would be called” Amo 9:12, would also partake of the mercy of God, and be subject to the Jewish people, and a time of general prosperity and of permanent blessings would follow, Amo 9:13-15. James understands this as referring to the times of the Messiah, and to the introduction of the gospel to the Gentiles. And so the passage Amo 9:12 is rendered in the Septuagint. See ver. 17. I will return - When the people of God are subjected to calamities and trials, it is often represented as if God had departed from them. His returning, therefore, is an image of their restoration to his favor and to prosperity. […]