15:23a

and sent them with this letter: The Greek is literally “having written by their hand.” The pronoun “their” probably refers to the apostles and elders. The phrase “by their hand” emphasizes that the apostles and elders wrote the letter that begins in 15:23b. Other ways to translate this are:

They wrote a letter that said: (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
They wrote this letter for them to deliver: (God’s Word)
-or-
The apostles and elders wrote this:

15:23b–c

The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings: This was the usual way to begin a letter in Greek. First the people writing introduced themselves. Then they said to whom they were writing. Then they had a short greeting. Many languages use a different style. The Good News Translation adds the pronoun “we” and translates Greetings as a verb for more natural English:

We, the apostles and the elders, your brothers, send greetings to all our brothers of Gentile birth who live in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. (Good News Translation)

15:23b

The apostles and the elders, your brothers:
The Greek is literally “the apostles and the elders, brothers.” The word brothers probably describes both the apostles and the elders. The Berean Standard Bible makes this clear with the comma and adding the pronoun your. For example:

The brothers, both the apostles and the elders (New Revised Standard Version)

the elders: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as elders means “old men.” Here this word refers to men who were respected leaders. See how you translated this word in 15:2.

your brothers: The apostles and elders in Jerusalem described themselves as brothers of the Gentile believers. In this way they showed that they and the Gentile believers were all God’s children. In some languages it is necessary or more natural to describe them as brothers in a separate clause. If this is true in your language, an example is:

⌊and we are⌋ your brothers

brothers: Here the word brothers refers to believers in Jesus, both men and women. The word indicates a close relationship because all believers become children of God. See how you translated this word in 15:1.

15:23c

To the brothers among the Gentiles: This new sentence begins without a subject or verb. In some languages it is necessary or more natural to add a subject and verb. If this is true in your language, do so. For example:

⌊We write⌋ to the Gentile believers

the brothers among the Gentiles: The Greek is literally “brothers, those of the Gentiles.” This emphasizes the word brothers. The apostles and elders clearly indicated that they considered the Gentile believers to be their brothers and sisters through faith in Jesus. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the brothers who are Gentiles
-or-
our brothers of Gentile birth (Good News Translation)
-or-
In our(incl) faith, we are ⌊like⌋ brothers to you Gentiles
-or-
We are ⌊like⌋ brothers to you Gentiles because we also believe in Jesus

in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in is literally “throughout.” It indicates that the letter was for Gentile believers living in all parts of the provinces of Syria and Cilicia.

Antioch: The city of Antioch was in the province of Syria (the Romans had conquered Syria earlier and ruled it at that time).

Syria, and Cilicia: Both of these names refer to land that were at that time Roman provinces.

Greetings: The Greek word here is literally “to rejoice.” People at that time used this word as a greeting to begin a letter. Other ways to translate this word are:

We greet you!
-or-
We rejoice to write to you

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