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Acts 6
New American Standard Bible
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
New International Version
Acts 6
New International Version
The Choosing of the Seven
6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,(A) the Hellenistic Jews[a](B) among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows(C) were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.(D) 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples(E) together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God(F) in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters,(G) choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit(H) and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them(I) 4 and will give our attention to prayer(J) and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen,(K) a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;(L) also Philip,(M) Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed(N) and laid their hands on them.(O)
7 So the word of God spread.(P) The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,(Q) and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs(R) among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene(S) and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia(T) and Asia(U)—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.(V)
11 Then they secretly(W) persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”(X)
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.(Y) 13 They produced false witnesses,(Z) who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place(AA) and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place(AB) and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”(AC)
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin(AD) looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Footnotes
- Acts 6:1 That is, Jews who had adopted the Greek language and culture
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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