Some people in Jerusalem were thought to be important. But it makes no difference to me what they were. God does not treat people differently. Those people added nothing to my message.

至于那些有名望的，不论他是何等人，都与我无干。神不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，并没有加增我什么，

至于那些有名望的，不论他们是何等人，都与我无关；上帝不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，并没有加增我什么。

至于那些有名望的，不论他们是何等人，都与我无关；神不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，并没有加增我什么。

至于那些德高望重的教会领袖，他们的地位对我来说无关紧要，因为上帝不以貌取人。他们对我所传的并没有增加什么。

至于那些被认为有名望的人（无论他们从前怎么样，都与我无关；神不以外貌取人），他们并没有给我增加什么；

至于那些公认是人物的——无论他们从前什么样，都对我没有区别；神不以外貌取人。那些公认是人物的并没有给我增添什么；

至於那些有名望的，不論他是何等人，都與我無干。神不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，並沒有加增我甚麼，

至於那些有名望的，不論他們是何等人，都與我無關；上帝不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，並沒有加增我甚麼。

至於那些有名望的，不論他們是何等人，都與我無關；神不以外貌取人。那些有名望的，並沒有加增我甚麼。

至於那些德高望重的教會領袖，他們的地位對我來說無關緊要，因為上帝不以貌取人。他們對我所傳的並沒有增加什麼。

至於那些被認為有名望的人（無論他們從前怎麼樣，都與我無關；神不以外貌取人），他們並沒有給我增加甚麼；

至於從那些所謂有名望的人呢（無論他們從前是甚麼樣的人，於我都沒有差別。上帝不以外貌取人）——那些有名望的人於我並沒有增益甚麼。

至於那些公認是人物的——無論他們從前什麼樣，都對我沒有區別；神不以外貌取人。那些公認是人物的並沒有給我增添什麼；

至於有名望者、無論何如人、於我無與、蓋上帝不以貌視人、彼有名望者、無所增益於我、

其有名者、不論何人、於我無與、上帝不以貌取人、要其有名者、與我無所增益、

至於有名者、不論何人、皆與我無與、天主不以貌取人、彼有名者、於我無所增益、

然吾人屹然不搖、未嘗於須臾之間、受其羈縻；此亦所以使福音之真傳、長存爾中、始終不渝耳。至於眾望所歸之同人、予亦未因其聲價之特殊、而另眼相看。夫人之貴賤、於天主乎何有？實則彼等於予亦未有所增；

As for those who were held in high esteem— whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism— they added nothing to my message.

And from those who seemed to be influential( what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)— those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.

And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching.( By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.)

Now from those recognized as important( what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)— they added nothing to me.

But from those who were of considerable repute( what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism)— well, those who were of repute contributed nothing to me.

But from those who seemed to be something— whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man— for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.

But from those who were reputed to be somewhat( whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth not man’s person)— they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me:

Now from those recognized as important( what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)— they added nothing to me.

But of these who seemed to be somewhat,( whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed[ to be somewhat] in conference added nothing to me:

But from those who were influential( whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people)– those influential leaders added nothing to my message.

But from those who were reputed to be important— whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God doesn’t show partiality to man— they, I say, who were respected imparted nothing to me,

I went because God showed me what he wanted me to do. I spoke in private to those who are respected as leaders. I told them the good news that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t running my race for no purpose. And I wanted to know that I had not been running my race for no purpose.

Then Peter began to speak.“ I now realize how true it is that God treats everyone the same,” he said.

I have made a fool of myself. But you made me do it. You should have praised me. Even though I am nothing, I am in no way less important than the“ super- apostles.”

If anyone thinks they are somebody when they are nobody, they are fooling themselves.

I don’t think I’m in any way less important than those“ super- apostles.”

God treats everyone the same.

Trust in your leaders. Put yourselves under their authority. Do this, because they keep watch over you. They know they are accountable to God for everything they do. Do this, so that their work will be a joy. If you make their work a heavy load, it won’t do you any good.

I’m ashamed to have to say that I was too weak for that! Whatever anyone else dares to brag about, I also dare to brag about. I’m speaking like a fool!Are they Hebrews? So am I. Do they belong to the people of Israel? So do I. Are they Abraham’s children? So am I.Are they serving Christ? I am serving him even more. I’m out of my mind to talk like this! I have worked much harder. I have been in prison more often. I have suffered terrible beatings. Again and again I almost died.

You call on a Father who judges each person’s work without favoring one over another. So live as outsiders during your time here. Live with the highest respect for God.

Elihu the Buzite, the son of Barakel, said,“ I’m young, and you are old. So I was afraid to tell you what I know.I thought,‘ Those who are older should speak first. Those who have lived for many years should teach people how to be wise.’

They sent their followers to him. They sent the Herodians with them.“ Teacher,” they said,“ we know that you are a man of honor. You teach the way of God truthfully. You don’t let others tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are.

He doesn’t favor princes. He treats rich people and poor people the same. His hands created all of them.

Remember your leaders. They spoke God’s word to you. Think about the results of their way of life. Copy their faith.

The apostles and elders met to consider this question.After they had talked it over, Peter got up and spoke to them.“ Brothers,” he said,“ you know that some time ago God chose me. He appointed me to take the good news to the Gentiles. He wanted them to hear the good news and believe.God knows the human heart. By giving the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles, he showed that he accepted them. He did the same for them as he had done for us.God showed that there is no difference between us and them. That’s because he made their hearts pure because of their faith.Now then, why are you trying to test God? You test him when you put a heavy load on the shoulders of Gentiles. Our people of long ago couldn’t carry that load. We can’t either.No! We believe we are saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus. The Gentiles are saved in the same way.”Everyone became quiet as they listened to Barnabas and Paul. They were telling about the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.When they finished, James spoke up.“ Brothers,” he said,“ listen to me.Simon Peter has explained to us what God has now done. He has chosen some of the Gentiles to be among his very own people.The prophets’ words agree with that. They say,“‘ After this I will return and set up again David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild what was destroyed. I will make it what it used to be.Then everyone else can look to the Lord. This includes all the Gentiles who belong to me, says the Lord. The Lord is the one who does these things.’( Amos 9:11, 12)The Lord does things that have been known from long ago.“ Now here is my decision. We should not make it hard for the Gentiles who are turning to God.Here is what we should write to them. They must not eat food that has been made impure by being offered to statues of gods. They must not commit sexual sins. They must not eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And they must not drink blood.These laws of Moses have been preached in every city from the earliest times. They are read out loud in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”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.Here is the letter they sent with them. The apostles and elders, your brothers, are writing this letter. We are sending it to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. Greetings.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.So we all agreed to send our dear friends Barnabas and Paul to you. We chose some other men to go with them.Barnabas and Paul have put their lives in danger. They did it for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.So we are sending Judas and Silas with them. What they say will agree with this letter.Here is what seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. We will not give you a load that is too heavy. So here are a few basic rules.Don’t eat food that has been offered to statues of gods. Don’t drink blood. Don’t eat the meat of animals that have been choked to death. And don’t commit sexual sins. You will do well to keep away from these things. Farewell.

In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her.John had been saying to Herod,“ It is against the Law for you to be married to your brother’s wife.”Herodias couldn’t forgive John for saying that. She wanted to kill him. But she could not,because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.

I too have something to say. I too will tell what I know.I’m full of words. My spirit inside me forces me to speak.Inside I’m like wine that is bottled up. I’m like new wineskins ready to burst.I must speak so I can feel better. I must open my mouth and reply.I’ll treat everyone the same. I won’t praise anyone without meaning it.If I weren’t honest when I praised people, my Maker would soon take me from this life.

So from now on we don’t look at anyone the way the world does. At one time we looked at Christ in that way. But we don’t anymore.

So the spies questioned Jesus.“ Teacher,” they said,“ we know that you speak and teach what is right. We know you don’t favor one person over another. You teach the way of God truthfully.

They came to him and said,“ Teacher, we know that you are a man of honor. You don’t let other people tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar or not?

James, Peter and John are respected as pillars in the church. They recognized the special grace given to me. So they shook my hand and the hand of Barnabas. They wanted to show they accepted us. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles. They would go to the Jews.They asked only one thing. They wanted us to continue to remember poor people. That was what I had wanted to do all along.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?”