15:9a–b
He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts by faith: The Berean Standard Bible adds the word for. The verse in Greek indicates a connection exists but does not indicate which kind of connection. The clause He cleansed their hearts by faith probably explains something about God making no distinction. Some ways to translate this are:
in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us (New Revised Standard Version)
15:9a
He made no distinction between us and them: The word distinction refers to regarding two things as different. Jews thought that Gentiles were different than them and they believed that Gentiles could not be accepted by God unless they became Jews first. But God showed that he accepts both Jews and Gentiles because they believe in Jesus. Other ways to translate this are:
He sees/considers no difference between us and them
-or-
To God, those people are not different from us. (New Century Version)
-or-
God treated them in the same way that he treated us. (Contemporary English Version)
15:9b
He cleansed their hearts: Here the verb cleansed refers figuratively to removing evil from the mind and spirit. The verb does not refer to literal washing here. Other ways to translate this clause are:
he cleansed their hearts/stomachs
-or-
he made their hearts pure (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
he removed filth from their liver/insides
by faith: These Gentiles believed in Jesus. Therefore God purified their hearts. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
due to ⌊their⌋ faith
-or-
because they believed/trusted ⌊in Jesus⌋
-or-
they believed, and so he purified their hearts
faith: The word faith is a noun that means the same thing as “believe” in 15:7c. In some languages a verb must be used. For example:
believing ⌊in Jesus Christ⌋
-or-
believing ⌊that Jesus is the Christ⌋
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