Acts 15:20

 Acts 15:20

But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

a. NLT: Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood.[Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood.[Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: But to write to them to abstain from the pollutions of the idols, and the whoredom, and the strangled thing; and the blood; [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.] 

d. Classic Amplified: But we should send word to them in writing to abstain from and avoid anything that has been polluted by being offered to idols, and all sexual impurity, and [eating meat of animals] that have been strangled, and [tasting of] blood.[Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Peshitta Eastern Text: But let us send word to them that they abstain from defilement by sacrifices to idols and from fornication and from animals strangled and from blood.  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT.Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1961 by A.J. Holmon Co.; Copyright  Ⓒ 1939 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1967  by A.J. Holmon Co.;  Copyright  Ⓒ 1940 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; Copyright  Ⓒ 1957 by A.J. Holmon Co. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

f. NIV: Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.[THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.]

1. “But that we write unto them…”

a. But [Strong: 235. alla al-lah' neuter plural of 243; properly, other things, i.e. (adverbially) contrariwise (in many relations):--and, but (even), howbeit, indeed, nay, nevertheless, no, notwithstanding, save, therefore, yea, yet.]

b. [that we] write [Strong: 1989. epistello ep-ee-stel'-lo from 1909 and 4724; to enjoin (by writing), i.e. (genitive case) to communicate by letter (for any purpose):--write (a letter, unto).]

c. [unto] them [Strong: [Strong: 846. autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]]

2. “...that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.”

a. [Strong: 3588. [tou] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tou] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, hé  hē, hai.]

b. [that they] abstain [Strong: 567. apechomai ap-ekh'-om-ahee middle voice (reflexively) of 568; to hold oneself off, i.e. refrain:--abstain.]

c. from [Strong: 575. apo apo' a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):--(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.]

d. pollutions [Strong: 234. alisgema al-is'-ghem-ah from alisgeo (to soil); (ceremonially) defilement:--pollution.]

e. [of] idols [Strong: 1497. eidolon i'-do-lon from 1491; an image (i.e. for worship); by implication, a heathen god, or (plural) the worship of such:--idol.]

f. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

g. [from] fornications [Strong: 4202. porneia por-ni'-ah from 4203; harlotry (including adultery and incest); figuratively, idolatry:--fornication.]

h. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

i. [from things] strangled [Strong: 4156. pniktos pnik-tos' from 4155; throttled, i.e. (neuter concretely) an animal choked to death (not bled):--strangled.]

j. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

k. [from] blood [Strong: 129. haima hah'-ee-mah of uncertain derivation; blood, literally (of men or animals), figuratively (the juice of grapes) or specially (the atoning blood of Christ); by implication, bloodshed, also kindred:--blood.]

1). The Bible And Homosexual Practice, Robert A. J. Gagnon, Note 151 According to the Apostolic Decree, gentiles were to abstain from (1) “things sacrificed to idols” (eidolothyta), encompassing both sacrificing to a god other than Yahweh and eating food offered to idols (alluding to Leviticus 17:1-9 which mandates that all sacrifices be brought “to the entrance of the tent of meeting” so that “they may no longer offer their sacrifices for goat-demons, to whom they prostitute themselves”); (2) “blood” (haima; alluding to Leviticus 17:10-12 where the eating of blood is prohibited), possibly containing a secondary allusion to not shedding blood (i.e., “bloodshed,” murder) since the command to Noah and his descendants in Genesis 9:4-6 couples the prohibition against eating animals from which the blood had not been drained with a prohibition against shedding human blood; (3) “what is strangled (or choked to death; pnikton), that is, eating animals that were killed without having the blood drained from them (alluding to Leviticus 17:13, 14 which refers to pouring out the blood of animals that have not died from a shedding of blood); and (4) “sexual immorality” (porniea; alluding to Leviticus 18:6-23, which forbids incest, adultery, intercourse between males, and bestiality). The fact that the sequence of the commands of the Apostolic Decree corresponds to the sequence in Leviticus 17-18 further confirms the former’s derivation from the latter.

2). David Stearn, Jewish New Testament Commentary: Under Acts 15:20: Abstain from things polluted by idols, defined in v. 29 as food sacrificed to false gods, especially meat (1 Corinthians 8:4-13; 10:25). Fornication: Any form of sexual immorality. In first-century pagan world (as, unfortunately, in the twentieth-century Western world) sexual unions outside of marriage were regarded very lightly, along with homosexual behavior, temple prostitution and other improper practices. In Judaism, on the other hand, these were abominations (Leviticus 18). What is strangled: that is, meat from animals not slaughtered in a way that allows the blood to flow out… And blood: This could be either literal, referring to drinking animals blood or failing to remove it from meat, or figurative, a metaphor for murder...The four prohibitions are a variant of the Noahchide laws presented in the Talmud as what God has required all mankind since the days of Noah (i.e. before “Jew” and “Gentile” were defined.)