Peter begins to speak to the apostles and elders who met to discuss whether Gentiles had to receive circumcision and keep the law. (See: [Acts 15:5-6](./05.md))
Here "us" is plural and refers to Peter, the apostles and elders, and all Jewish believers in general. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-inclusive]])
Here "word" stands for a message. AT: "the message about Jesus" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
# who knows the heart
Here "heart" refers to the "minds" or "inner beings." AT: "who knows the people's minds" or "who knows what people think" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])
God's forgiving the Gentile believers' sins is spoken as though he literally cleaned their hearts. Here "heart" stands for the person's inner being. AT: "forgiving their sins because they believed in Jesus" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]] and [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])