Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch. Here is what they were teaching the believers.“ Moses commanded you to be circumcised,” they said.“ If you aren’t, you can’t be saved.”

有几个人从犹太下来，教训弟兄们说：“你们若不按摩西的规条受割礼，不能得救。”

有几个人从犹太下来，教导弟兄们说：“你们若不按照摩西的规矩受割礼，不能得救。”

有几个人从犹太下来，教导弟兄们说：“你们若不按照摩西的规矩受割礼，不能得救。”

有几个从犹太下来的人教导弟兄们说：“你们若不照着摩西的规条接受割礼，就不能得救。”

有几个人从犹太下来，教导弟兄们说：“你们若不照摩西的规例受割礼，就不能得救。”

有一些人从犹太下来，教导弟兄们说：“你们如果不按摩西的规矩受割礼，就不能得救。”

有幾個人從猶太下來，教訓弟兄們說：「你們若不按摩西的規條受割禮，不能得救。」

有幾個人從猶太下來，教導弟兄們說：「你們若不按照摩西的規矩受割禮，不能得救。」

有幾個人從猶太下來，教導弟兄們說：「你們若不按照摩西的規矩受割禮，不能得救。」

有幾個從猶太下來的人教導弟兄們說：「你們若不照著摩西的規條接受割禮，就不能得救。」

有幾個人從猶太下來，教導弟兄們說：“你們若不照摩西的規例受割禮，就不能得救。”

有幾個人從猶太下來，教訓弟兄們說：『你們若不按着摩西的規矩受割禮，就不能得救。』

有一些人從猶太下來，教導弟兄們說：「你們如果不按摩西的規矩受割禮，就不能得救。」

有數人來自猶太、訓諸兄弟曰、苟不依摩西例受割、不能得救也、

有數人自猶太來、教諸兄弟曰、苟非依摩西例、受割禮、則不得救、

有數人自猶太來、教諸兄弟曰、爾曹若不遵摩西之例受割禮、則不得救、

爾時有自猶太來者、誡諸兄弟曰：『苟不依摩西舊例、領受割禮、則不能蒙救恩。』

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:“ Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

But 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.”

While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers:“ Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers,“ Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brothers,“ Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren,“ Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

And certain men came down from Judæa and taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers:“ Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved!”

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren,[ and said], Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers,“ Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Some men came down from Judea and taught the brothers,“ Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can’t be saved.”

Some of the believers were Pharisees. They stood up and said,“ The Gentiles must be circumcised. They must obey the law of Moses.”

Circumcision and uncircumcision aren’t worth anything to those who believe in Christ Jesus. The only thing that really counts is faith that shows itself through love.

Christ has set us free to enjoy our freedom. So remain strong in the faith. Don’t let the chains of slavery hold you again.Here is what I, Paul, say to you. Don’t let yourselves be circumcised. If you do, Christ won’t be of any value to you.I say it again. Every man who lets himself be circumcised must obey the whole law.Some of you are trying to be made right with God by obeying the law. You have been separated from Christ. You have fallen away from God’s grace.

We have heard that some of our people came to you and caused trouble. You were upset by what they said. But we had given them no authority to go.

On the eighth day the boy must be circumcised.

Was a man already circumcised when God chose him? Then he should not become uncircumcised. Was he uncircumcised when God chose him? Then he should not be circumcised.Being circumcised means nothing. Being uncircumcised means nothing. Doing what God commands is what counts.

When Peter came to Antioch, I told him to his face that I was against what he was doing. He was clearly wrong.He used to eat with the Gentiles. But certain men came from a group sent by James. When they arrived, Peter began to draw back. He separated himself from the Gentiles. That’s because he was afraid of the circumcision group sent by James.Peter’s actions were not honest, and other Jews in Antioch joined him. Even Barnabas was led astray.I saw what they were doing. It was not in line with the truth of the good news. So I spoke to Peter in front of them all.“ You are a Jew,” I said.“ But you live like one who is not. So why do you force Gentiles to follow Jewish ways?”

Even those who are circumcised don’t obey the law. But they want you to be circumcised. Then they can brag about what has been done to your body.I never want to brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through that cross the ways of the world have been crucified as far as I am concerned. And I have been crucified as far as the ways of the world are concerned.Circumcision and uncircumcision don’t mean anything. What really counts is that the new creation has come.May peace and mercy be given to all who follow this rule. May peace and mercy be given to the Israel that belongs to God.

We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. He says Jesus will change the practices that Moses handed down to us.”

When you received Christ, your circumcision was not done by human hands. Instead, your circumcision was done by Christ. He put away the person you used to be. At that time, sin’s power ruled over you.When you were baptized, you were buried together with Christ. And you were raised to life together with him when you were baptized. You were raised to life by believing in God’s work. God himself raised Jesus from the dead.

Then the apostles, the elders and the whole church decided what to do. They would choose some of their own men who were leaders among the believers. They would send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. So they chose Judas Barsabbas and Silas. They were leaders among the believers.

Make sure no one controls you. They will try to control you by using false reasoning that has no meaning. Their ideas depend on human teachings. They also depend on the basic spiritual powers of this world. They don’t depend on Christ.

Titus was with me. He was a Greek. But even he was not forced to be circumcised.This matter came up because some people had slipped in among us. They had pretended to be believers. They wanted to find out about the freedom we have because we belong to Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves again.

Watch out for those dogs. They are people who do evil things. When they circumcise, it is nothing more than a useless cutting of the body.But we have been truly circumcised. We serve God by the power of his Spirit. We boast about what Christ Jesus has done. We don’t put our trust in who we are or what we can do.

Here is my covenant that you and your family after you must keep. You and every male among you must be circumcised.That will be the sign of the covenant between me and you.It must be done for all time to come. Every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised. That includes those who are born into your own family or outside it. It also includes those bought with money from a stranger.So any male born into your family or bought with your money must be circumcised. My covenant will last forever. Your body will have the mark of my covenant on it.Any male who has not been circumcised will be separated from his people. He has broken my covenant.”God also said to Abraham,“ Do not continue to call your wife by the name Sarai. Her name will be Sarah.I will give her my blessing. You can be sure that I will give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations. Kings of nations will come from her.”Abraham fell with his face to the ground. He laughed and said to himself,“ Can a 100- year- old man have a son? Can Sarah have a child at the age of 90?”Abraham said to God,“ I really wish Ishmael could receive your blessing!”Then God said,“ Yes, I will bless Ishmael. But your wife Sarah will have a son by you. And you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him. That covenant will last forever. It will be for Isaac and his family after him.I have heard what you said about Ishmael. I will surely bless him. I will make his family very large. He will be the father of 12 rulers. And I will make him into a great nation.But I will establish my covenant with Isaac. By this time next year, Sarah will have a son by you.”When God had finished speaking with Abraham, God left him.On that same day Abraham circumcised his son Ishmael. He also circumcised every male who was born into his family or bought with his money. He did exactly as God had told him.Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised.His son Ishmael was 13.Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day.And every male in Abraham’s household was circumcised along with him. That included those born into his family or bought from a stranger.

Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem. This time I went with Barnabas. I took Titus along also.

Blessed is the person whose sin the Lord never counts against them.”( Psalm 32:1, 2)Is that blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have been saying that God accepted Abraham’s faith. So his faith made him right with God.When did it happen? Was it after Abraham was circumcised, or before? It was before he was circumcised, not after!He was circumcised as a sign of the covenant God had made with him. It showed that his faith had made him right with God before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all believers who have not been circumcised. God accepts their faith. So their faith makes them right with him.And Abraham is also the father of those who are circumcised and believe. So just being circumcised is not enough. Those who are circumcised must also follow the steps of our father Abraham. He had faith before he was circumcised.

The church sent them on their way. They traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria. There they told how the Gentiles had turned to God. This news made all the believers very glad.

So don’t let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anyone judge you about holy days. I’m talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days.

When they heard this, they praised God. Then they spoke to Paul.“ Brother,” they said,“ you see that thousands of Jews have become believers. All of them try very hard to obey the law.

Moses gave you circumcision, and so you circumcise a child on the Sabbath day. But circumcision did not really come from Moses. It came from Abraham.