Acts 15:24
in Acts 15It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Forasmuch as we have heard that certain who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment;
KJV
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
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This verse in Acts 15
Commentary
8 notes on this verseCertain which went out from us - So the persons who produced these doubtful disputations at Antioch, etc., had gone out from the apostles at Jerusalem, and were of that Church: persons zealous for the law, and yet, strange to tell, so conscientiously attached to the Gospel that they risked their personal safety by professing it. To whom we gave no such commandment - As, therefore, they went out from that Church, they should have taught nothing which was not owned and taught by it; much less should they have taught in opposition to it.
This site's exposition
some went out from us
on Acts 15:24-27
The council disavows the teachers of verse 1 as men who had gone out from Jerusalem without authorization, so their demand carried no authority. It commends Barnabas and Paul as men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
You have received as your patrimony the desire never to allow the teachings of our faith to degenerate into heresy. What makes this clear? In the time of your ancestors, people came here from Judea who were muddying the clear waters of the doctrine taught by the apostles. They were exhorting your ancestors to practice circumcision and to observe the Mosaic law. Those who then lived in your city did not remain silent, nor did they put up with this innovation. They were like courageous hounds who saw wolves attacking and destroying the entire flock. They sprang after the wolves and did not let up chasing them and driving them away. They saw to it that the apostles from every corner of the world sent them their decision in the form of a letter that would protect them from any attack launched against the faithful by those innovators and all such as might come thereafter.
And mark with what forbearance of all harsh vituperation of those brethren they indite their epistle. "Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the Law: to whom we gave no such commandment." Sufficient was this charge against the temerity of those men, and worthy of the Apostles' moderation, that they said nothing beyond this. And observe, they do not put it, That certain from us ordered you to keep the Law, but, "Troubled you with words, subverting your souls" - nothing could be more proper than that word: none of the other speakers has so spoken of the things done by those men. "The souls," he says, already strongly established, these persons are taking down again as in speaking of a building, displacing them from the foundation. "To whom," he says, "we gave no such commandment."
The Medieval Church1 voice
They have troubled you, subverting your souls, to whom we gave no commandment. In the Greek, more is added: Subverting your souls, saying, you must be circumcised, and keep the law, whom we gave no commandment.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It was owing to the subtlety and malice of the great enemy of the church's peace (as it appears by Paul's frequent complaints of these judaizing teachers, these false apostles, these deceitful workers, these enemies of the cross of Christ ), that it had not this effect.
Forasmuch as we have heard,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Forasmuch - Since we have heard. That certain - That some, Act 15:1. Have troubled you with words - With doctrines. They have disturbed your minds, and produced contentions. Subverting your souls - The word used here occurs nowhere else in the New Testament ἀνασκευάζοντες anaskeuazontes. It properly means “to collect together the vessels used in a house the household furniture - for the purpose of removing it.” It is applied to marauders, robbers, and enemies who remove and bear off property, thus producing distress, confusion, and disorder. It is thus used in the sense of disturbing or destroying, and here denotes that they “unsettled their minds” - that they produced anxiety, disturbance, and distress by these doctrines about Moses. To whom we gave no such commandment - They went, therefore, without authority. Self-constituted and self-sent teachers not infrequently produce disturbance and distress. Had the apostles been consulted on this subject, the difficulty would have been avoided. By thus saying that they had not given them a command to teach these things, they practically assured the Gentile converts that they did not approve of the course which those who went from Judea had taken.
The words behind it
17 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἐπειδὴ | epeide | Inasmuch as | G1894 → | 10 times |
| ἠκούσαμεν | ekousamen | we have heard | G191 → | 425 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| τινὲς | tines | some | G5100 → | 528 times |
| ἐξ | ex | from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| ἡμῶν | hemon | us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ἐξελθόντες | exelthontes | went out | G1831 → | 216 times |
| ἐτάραξαν | etaraxan | troubled | G5015 → | 17 times |
| ὑμᾶς | humas | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| λόγοις | logois | by words | G3056 → | 329 times |
| ἀνασκευάζοντες | anaskeuazontes | upsetting | G384 → | |
| τὰς | tas | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ψυχὰς | psuchas | minds | G5590 → | 103 times |
| ὑμῶν | humon | of you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| οἷς | hois | to whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| διεστειλάμεθα, | diesteilametha | we had given instructions, | G1291 → |
ἘπειδὴInasmuch as
epeideG1894 →10 times
ἠκούσαμενwe have heard
ekousamenG191 →425 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
τινὲςsome
tinesG5100 →528 times
ἐξfrom
exG1537 →911 times
ἡμῶνus
hemonG3165 →1936 times
ἐξελθόντεςwent out
exelthontesG1831 →216 times
ἐτάραξανtroubled
etaraxanG5015 →17 times
ὑμᾶςyou
humasG4771 →2973 times
λόγοιςby words
logoisG3056 →329 times
ἀνασκευάζοντεςupsetting
anaskeuazontesG384 →
τὰςthe
tasG3588 →19766 times
ψυχὰςminds
psuchasG5590 →103 times
ὑμῶνof you
humonG4771 →2973 times
οἷςto whom
hoisG3739 →1405 times
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
διεστειλάμεθα,we had given instructions,
diesteilamethaG1291 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Galatians 1:7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
it leads to
- Galatians 5:10
I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 16:17–18
Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.
- Galatians 5:10
Through
Acts 15:1Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
it leads to
- Galatians 5:6
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
- Acts 15:5
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and declared, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”
- Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- Galatians 2:11–14
When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.
- Leviticus 12:3
And on the eighth day the flesh of the boy’s foreskin is to be circumcised.
- Galatians 5:6
Through
Galatians 5:10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.
it leads to
- Galatians 5:12
As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!
- Galatians 5:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies19
On this verse
On this chapter
About Acts
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Retractions on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS 2.4-5; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 33; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.