^13 (A)Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’

²¹ Moreover, look for ^(A)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

²¹ So one of the men who have accompanied us during ^(A)all the time that the Lord Jesus ^(B)went in and out among us, ^22 (C)beginning from the baptism of John until the day when ^(D)he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us ^(E)a witness to his resurrection.” ²³ And they put forward two, Joseph called ^(F)Barsabbas, who was also called ^(G)Justus, and ^(H)Matthias.

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

¹⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me ^(A)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(B)officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ^17 (C)And I will come down and talk with you there. And ^(D)I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and ^(E)they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.

² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ^3 (A)Therefore, brothers,^[a] pick out from among you seven men ^(B)of good repute, ^(C)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But ^(D)we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, ^(E)a man full of faith and ^(F)of the Holy Spirit, and ^(G)Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ^(H)a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and ^(I)they prayed and ^(J)laid their hands on them.