And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brothers send greeting to the brothers which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brothers send greeting to the brothers which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.
and they wrote thus by them, The apostles and the elders, brethren, unto the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting:
And they sent a letter by them, saying, The Apostles and the older brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, may joy be with you:
And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles, and elders, and brethren, send greeting to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, and Syria, and Cilicia.
They wrote these things by their hand: "The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings.
and they wrote thus by them, The apostles and the elder brethren unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting:
Send greeting unto the brethren - of the Gentiles - There was no occasion to send such a letter to the brethren which were of the Jews, because that law which had been so long read in their synagogues taught them all those things; and therefore the epistle is sent exclusively to the Gentiles. The word greeting is in the original χαιρειν, to be well, to be safe; a very usual form in Greek epistles, the word ευχομαι being understood, I wish thee to be well.
And wrote letters - Greek: "Having written." It does not mean that they wrote more than one epistle.
By them - Greek: by their hand."
After this manner - Greek: these things.
Send greeting - A word of salutation, expressing their desire of the happiness (χαίρειν chairein) of the persons addressed. Compare Matthew 26:49; Matthew 27:29; Luke 1:28; John 19:3.
In Antioch - Where the difficulty first arose.
And Syria - Antioch was the capital of Syria, and it is probable that the dispute was not confined to the capital.
And Cilicia - See the notes on Acts 6:9. Cilicia was adjacent to Syria. Paul and Barnabas had traveled through it, and it is probable that the same difficulty would exist there which had disturbed the churches in Syria.
15:23 Writing thus, and sending it by their hand - The whole conduct of this affair plainly shows that the Church in those days had no conception of St. Peter's primacy, or of his being the chief judge in controversies. For the decree is drawn up, not according to his, but the Apostle James's proposal and direction: and that in the name, not of St. Peter, but of all the apostles and elders, and of the whole Church. Nay, St. Peter's name is not mentioned at all, either in the order for sending to Jerusalem on the question, Acts 15:2 , or in the address of the messengers concerning it, Acts 15:4 , or in the letter which was written in answer.