What Does Acts 15:25 Mean?
It seemed good to us, being assembled with one passion, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,THE KEY
The “accord” that sends the message is literally shared passion: unity becomes a collective choice.
THE MEANING
Here, shared passion gathers discernment into a choice and sends it outward through trusted companions. The message reaches you through both common purpose and beloved relationship.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the idea that unity is only private agreement; here it becomes a shared decision and a message sent outward.
THE ROOT
ὁμοθυμαδόν
homothymadon
GROWS FROM
ὁμός + θυμός (homos + thymos)
same + heat, passion; together, one passion
“with one passion” in this verse is homothymadon. The Greek word joins “same” with “passion,” so accord carries the sense of a shared inner drive, not just agreement in thought. The verse shows that shared passion taking form as a choice and a sending.
ALSO GROWS
thymos: heat, passion, anger
θυμός
This root carries the inner heat within “one accord,” revealing the intensity beneath the group’s common purpose.
epithymia: desire, longing
ἐπιθυμία
The same thymos element appears in desire; here, passion is shared and directed into choosing and sending.
THE PATTERN
When people share a common purpose, unity becomes visible in how they gather, choose, and act together.
These all held fast with one passion in prayer and pleading, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.And not only that, but he was also chosen by the assemblies to be our fellow traveler in this favor, which is served by us so that the same Lord may be given weight, and the showing of your leaning heart.A Song of degrees of David. Look, how good and how sweet it is for brothers to settle also together!THE THREAD
These all held fast with one passion in prayer and pleading, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.The same Greek word for “one accord” appears here, describing people continuing together in prayer. In Acts 15:25, that shared passion takes the form of a choice and a sending.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us