15:21a–b

For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath: The people who knew about the laws of Moses mentioned here is left implied. James probably implied that the Gentile Christians knew them. (It was assumed that the Jewish Christians did.) Christians did not yet have their own scriptures, so people read and taught Jewish scriptures. So they would already know about these rules. The concern was that Christians should not offend Jews in hope that some may decide to believe in Jesus.

In some languages some of the implied information may be needed to make the translation clear. For example:

For Moses has been proclaimed ⌊to non-Jews⌋ in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath

15:21a

For: This word introduces the reason that the Gentile believers could know about the laws of Moses and follow what James said in 15:20.

Moses has been proclaimed in every city: The Greek is literally “Moses has had in every city the (ones) preaching him.” This refers to Jews preaching the laws of Moses. They preached to other Jews, but some may have preached to Gentiles too. Other ways to translate this clause are:

these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jews have taught the laws/writings of Moses in every city

Moses: The name Moses refers here to the laws that God gave to Moses. For example:

the Law of Moses (Good News Translation)

proclaimed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as proclaimed means “announce” or “proclaim.” Jews read aloud the laws of Moses in the synagogues and taught them.

See how you translated this word in 8:5 (“proclaimed”) or 10:42 (“preach”).

in every city: The Greek is literally “from city to city.” It indicates that Jews preached in many cities. For example:

in city after city (Contemporary English Version)

city: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as city refers to either towns or cities. They are larger and more important than villages, which is a different Greek word. Do not use a word that refers only to large, modern cities of today. For example:

town (Good News Translation)

from ancient times: The Greek is literally “from ancient generations.” Jews began living in cities outside of Judea at the time of the exile, about 600 years before this. Other ways to translate this are:

for generations past (Revised English Bible)
-or-
for a very long time (Good News Translation)

15:21b

is read: People read the laws of Moses aloud so that everyone in the synagogue could hear them. This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊people⌋ read aloud

synagogues: The synagogues are buildings where Jews gather to pray, read scripture, teach, and worship. They also gathered there for cultural activities. There was only one temple (in Jerusalem), but all except the smallest Jewish communities had a synagogue. Some ways to translate synagogues are:

prayer-houses of the Jews
-or-
meeting-places of the Jews
-or-
Jewish worship buildings
-or-
houses for Jews to gather together

If you make explicit a phrase such as “of the Jews,” be sure that it does not imply that James was not a Jew.

If the word synagogues is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may want to include a word or phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

sinagog houses/buildings

See how you translated this word in 6:9 or 14:1.

Sabbath: The word Sabbath is the name of the seventh and last day of the week for the Jews. The Sabbath was the special day in the week when the Jews rested and worshiped God.

Some ways to translate Sabbath are:

the ⌊Jewish⌋ rest day
-or-
the day to worship God

If the word Sabbath is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may also want to include a phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

Sabat, the ⌊Jews’⌋ day for resting and worship

Be careful that the term you choose is not confused with Sunday, the day when Christians worship. The Sabbath for the Jews began at sundown on Friday and went until sundown on Saturday. You may want to include a footnote to give more information. An example footnote is:

The Sabbath is a name for the seventh day of the week. It is the day when the Jews rested from work and worshiped God.

See how you translated this word in 13:14.

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