²⁰ Instead of that, we should write a letter to tell them how to live as believers. We should say to them, “Do not eat any food which people have given to their idols. That food has become unclean. Do not have sex with anyone that you are not married to. If people have strangled an animal to kill it, do not eat its meat. Do not eat anything that still has blood in it.”^{[a] 21} These rules are important, because people have known the Law of Moses for a very long time. On every Jewish day of rest, someone teaches us about the Law in our Jewish meeting places in every city.’

The leaders in Jerusalem write a letter to the Gentile believers

²² The whole group of believers agreed with what James said. So the apostles and the other leaders decided to choose some men from among the group of believers. These men would go to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Silas and Judas, who was also called Barsabbas. The believers all respected these men as leaders.