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Acts 6

6 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

6 Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.

15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

Seven Men Chosen for a Special Work

6 More and more people were becoming followers of Jesus. But during this same time, the Greek-speaking followers began to complain against the other Jewish followers. They said that their widows were not getting their share of what the followers received every day. 2 The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together.

The apostles said to them, “It would not be right for us to give up our work of teaching God’s word in order to be in charge of getting food to people. 3 So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men who have a good reputation. They must be full of wisdom and the Spirit. We will give them this work to do. 4 Then we can use all our time to pray and to teach the word of God.”

5 The whole group liked the idea. So they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip, [ a ] Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a man from Antioch who had become a Jew). 6 Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. [ b ]

7 The word of God was reaching more and more people. The group of followers in Jerusalem became larger and larger. Even a big group of Jewish priests believed and obeyed.

Some Jews Against Stephen

8 Stephen received a great blessing. God gave him power to do great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 But some of the Jews there were from the synagogue of Free Men, as it was called. The group included Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They started arguing with Stephen. 10 But the Spirit was helping him speak with wisdom. His words were so strong that these Jews could not argue with him.

11 So they told some men to say, “We heard Stephen say bad things against Moses and against God!” 12 By doing this, these Jews upset the people, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law. They became so angry that they came and grabbed Stephen and took him to a meeting of the high council.

13 The Jews brought some men into the meeting to tell lies about Stephen. These men said, “This man is always saying things against this holy place and against the Law of Moses. 14 We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change what Moses told us to do.” 15 Everyone there in the council meeting was staring at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 6:5 Philip Not the apostle named Philip.
  2. Acts 6:6 laid their hands on them This act was a way of asking God to bless people in a special way—to heal them, to cause the Holy Spirit to come into them, or to give them power for a special work.

6 Now in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the [ a ] Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. 2 And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not [ b ] fit that we should forsake the word of God, and [ c ] serve tables. 3 [ d ] Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will continue stedfastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the word. 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch; 6 whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.

7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But there arose certain of them that were of the synagogue called the synagogue of the [ e ] Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake. 11 Then they suborned men, who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. 12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and seized him, and brought him into the council, 13 and set up false witnesses, who said, This man ceaseth not to speak words against this holy place, and the law: 14 for we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us. 15 And all that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 6:1 Greek Hellenists .
  2. Acts 6:2 Greek pleasing .
  3. Acts 6:2 Or, minister to tables
  4. Acts 6:3 Some ancient authorities read But, brethren, look ye out from among you .
  5. Acts 6:9 Or, Freedmen

6 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, a complaint arose from the Hellenists [ a ] against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily service. 2 The twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not appropriate for us to forsake the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore select from among you, brothers, seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 4 But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.”

5 These words pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch; 6 whom they set before the apostles. When they had prayed, they laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God increased and the number of the disciples greatly multiplied in Jerusalem. A great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

8 Stephen, full of faith and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some of those who were of the synagogue called “The Libertines”, and of the Cyrenians, of the Alexandrians, and of those of Cilicia and Asia arose, disputing with Stephen. 10 They weren’t able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and came against him and seized him, then brought him in to the council, 13 and set up false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking blasphemous words against this holy place and the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15 All who sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face like it was the face of an angel.

Footnotes

  1. 6:1 The Hellenists used Greek language and culture, even though they were also of Hebrew descent.

6 And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration,

2 and the twelve, having called near the multitude of the disciples, said, `It is not pleasing that we, having left the word of God, do minister at tables;

3 look out, therefore, brethren, seven men of you who are well testified of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may set over this necessity,

4 and we to prayer, and to the ministration of the word, will give ourselves continually.'

5 And the thing was pleasing before all the multitude, and they did choose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch,

6 whom they did set before the apostles, and they, having prayed, laid on them [their] hands.

7 And the word of God did increase, and the number of the disciples did multiply in Jerusalem exceedingly; a great multitude also of the priests were obedient to the faith.

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people,

9 and there arose certain of those of the synagogue, called of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia, and Asia, disputing with Stephen,

10 and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking;

11 then they suborned men, saying -- `We have heard him speaking evil sayings in regard to Moses and God.'

12 They did stir up also the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and having come upon [him], they caught him, and brought [him] to the sanhedrim;

13 they set up also false witnesses, saying, `This one doth not cease to speak evil sayings against this holy place and the law,

14 for we have heard him saying, That this Jesus the Nazarean shall overthrow this place, and shall change the customs that Moses delivered to us;'

15 and gazing at him, all those sitting in the sanhedrim saw his face as it were the face of a messenger.

6 And in those days, the number of the disciples increasing, there arose a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, for that their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

2 Then the twelve calling together the multitude of the disciples, said: It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

3 Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

5 And the saying was liked by all the multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.

6 These they set before the apostles; and they praying, imposed hands upon them.

7 And the word of the Lord increased; and the number of the disciples was multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly: a great multitude also of the priests obeyed the faith.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great wonders and signs among the people.

9 Now there arose some of that which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them that were of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen.

10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke.

11 Then they suborned men to say, they had heard him speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.

12 And they stirred up the people, and the ancients, and the scribes; and running together, they took him, and brought him to the council.

13 And they set up false witnesses, who said: This man ceaseth not to speak words against the holy place and the law.

14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the traditions which Moses delivered unto us.

15 And all that sat in the council, looking on him, saw his face as if it had been the face of an angel.

Ministers (or deacons) are ordained in the congregation to do service in necessary things of the body so that the apostles may attend only to the word of God. Stephen is accused.

6 In those days, as the number of the disciples grew, there arose a grudge among the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve called all of the disciples together and said, It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve at the tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, choose from among you seven men of good reputation, and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint to this needful business. 4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

5 And this proposal pleased the whole assembly. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a convert from Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God advanced, and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company of the priests accepted the faith. 8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.

9 Then some of those who were of the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and Cyrenians, and some from Alexandria and Cilicia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. 11 Then they sent in men who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. 12 And they moved the people and the elders and the scribes, and came upon him and caught him, and brought him to the council. 13 And they brought forth false witnesses, who said, This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the ordinances that Moses gave us.

15 And all who sat in the council looked steadfastly on him, and saw his face, as it were the face of an angel.

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