Acts 6
New American Standard Bible
Choosing of the Seven
6 Now [a]at this time, as the (A)disciples were (B)increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the [b](C)Hellenistic Jews against the native (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [c]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Instead, (G)brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the [d]ministry of the word.” 5 The [e]announcement found approval with the whole [f]congregation; and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and [g]Nicolas, a [h](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And they brought these men before the apostles; and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)The word of God kept spreading; and (R)the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great (T)wonders and [i]signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both (U)Cyrenians and (V)Alexandrians, and some from (W)Cilicia and [j](X)Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to [k]cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they (Y)came up to him and dragged him away, and brought him [l]before (Z)the [m]Council. 13 They put forward (AA)false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop [n]speaking against this (AB)holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that (AC)this Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place and change (AD)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And all who were sitting in the [o](AE)Council stared at him, and they saw his face, which was like the face of an angel.
Footnotes
- Acts 6:1 Lit in these days
- Acts 6:1 Jews who adopted the Gr language and much of Gr culture through acculturation
- Acts 6:2 Lit multitude
- Acts 6:4 Or service
- Acts 6:5 Lit word
- Acts 6:5 Lit multitude
- Acts 6:5 Gr Nikolaos
- Acts 6:5 I.e., a Gentile convert to Judaism
- Acts 6:8 I.e., confirming miracles
- Acts 6:9 I.e., west coast province of Asia Minor
- Acts 6:10 Lit oppose
- Acts 6:12 Lit into
- Acts 6:12 Or Sanhedrin
- Acts 6:13 Lit speaking words
- Acts 6:15 Or Sanhedrin
Acts 6
Lexham English Bible
The First Seven Deacons Appointed
6 Now in these days, as[a] the disciples were increasing in number,[b] a complaint arose by the Greek-speaking Jews[c] against the Hebraic Jews[d] because[e] their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.[f] 2 So the twelve summoned the community of disciples and[g] said, “It is not desirable that we neglect the word of God to serve tables. 3 So, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation,[h] full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And the statement pleased the whole group, 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 convert from Antioch), 6 whom they stood before the apostles. And they prayed and[i] placed their[j] hands on them.
7 And the word of God kept spreading, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem was increasing greatly, and a large number of priests began obeying[k] the faith.
Stephen Arrested
8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called),[l] both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia,[m] stood up and[n] disputed with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God!” 12 And they incited the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came up and[o] seized him and brought him[p] to the Sanhedrin.[q] 13 And they put forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place[r] and the law! 14 For we have heard him saying that this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” 15 And as they[s] looked intently at him, all those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin[t] saw his face was like the face of an angel.
Footnotes
- Acts 6:1 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“were increasing”)
- Acts 6:1 *The words “in number” are not in the Greek text but are implied
- Acts 6:1 Literally “Hellenists”
- Acts 6:1 Literally “Hebrews”
- Acts 6:1 Or “that”
- Acts 6:1 *The words “of food” are not in the Greek text but are implied
- Acts 6:2 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 6:3 Literally “well spoken of”
- Acts 6:6 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“prayed”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 6:6 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 6:7 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began obeying”)
- Acts 6:9 Literally “called”
- Acts 6:9 A reference to the Roman province of Asia (modern Asia Minor)
- Acts 6:9 Here “and” is supplied because the participle (“disputed”) has been translated as a finite verb in keeping with English style
- Acts 6:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 6:12 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 6:12 Or “council”
- Acts 6:13 Some manuscripts have “this holy place”
- Acts 6:15 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“looked intently”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 6:15 Or “council”
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