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Hechos 6
Reina-Valera Antigua
Hechos 6
Reina-Valera Antigua
6 EN aquellos días, creciendo el número de los discípulos, hubo murmuración de los Griegos contra los Hebreos, de que sus viudas eran menospreciadas en el ministerio cotidiano.
2 Así que, los doce convocaron la multitud de los discípulos, y dijeron: No es justo que nosotros dejemos la palabra de Dios, y sirvamos á las mesas.
3 Buscad pues, hermanos, siete varones de vosotros de buen testimonio, llenos de Espíritu Santo y de sabiduría, los cuales pongamos en esta obra.
4 Y nosotros persistiremos en la oración, y en el ministerio de la palabra.
5 Y plugo el parecer á toda la multitud; y eligieron á Esteban, varón lleno de fe y de Espíritu Santo, y á Felipe, y á Prócoro, y á Nicanor, y á Timón, y á Parmenas, y á Nicolás, prosélito de Antioquía:
6 A estos presentaron delante de los apóstoles, los cuales orando les pusieron las manos encima.
7 Y crecía la palabra del Señor, y el número de los discípulos se multiplicaba mucho en Jerusalem: también una gran multitud de los sacerdotes obedecía á la fe.
8 Empero Esteban, lleno de gracia y de potencia, hacía prodigios y milagros grandes en el pueblo.
9 Levantáronse entonces unos de la sinagoga que se llama de los Libertinos, y Cireneos, y Alejandrinos, y de los de Cilicia, y de Asia, disputando con Esteban.
10 Mas no podían resistir á la sabiduría y al Espíritu con que hablaba.
11 Entonces sobornaron á unos que dijesen que le habían oído hablar palabras blasfemas contra Moisés y Dios.
12 Y conmovieron al pueblo, y á los ancianos, y á los escribas; y arremetiendo le arrebataron, y le trajeron al concilio.
13 Y pusieron testigos falsos, que dijesen: Este hombre no cesa de hablar palabras blasfemas contra este lugar santo y la ley:
14 Porque le hemos oído decir, que Jesús de Nazaret destruirá este lugar, y mudará las ordenanzas que nos dió Moisés.
15 Entonces todos los que estaban sentados en el concilio, puestos los ojos en él, vieron su rostro como el rostro de un ángel.
Acts 6
New King James Version
Acts 6
New King James Version
Seven Chosen to Serve
6 Now in those days, (A)when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the (B)Hellenists,[a] because their widows were neglected (C)in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, (D)“It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, (E)seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this (F)business; 4 but we (G)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, (H)a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and (I)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and (J)Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, 6 whom they set before the apostles; and (K)when they had prayed, (L)they laid hands on them.
7 Then (M)the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many (N)of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Stephen Accused of Blasphemy
8 And Stephen, full of [b]faith and power, did great (O)wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 And (P)they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11 (Q)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 came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak [c]blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 (R)for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
Acts 6
The Voice
Acts 6
The Voice
These emissaries of Jesus inspire us with their passion to serve Jesus and advance the gospel in the face of torture and abuse. After a night in prison and a public flogging, they moved forward with smiles on their faces. Believers in the Western church often enjoy the benefits of social and political power and are unwilling to suffer persecution for their faith as these men did. At the same time, many believers throughout the world face daily pressure to renounce their faith but choose boldly to remain faithful despite social, economic, and even physical persecution. These believers follow closely the path trodden by the Anointed One and His early followers.
6 Things were going well, and the number of disciples was growing. But a problem arose. The Greek-speaking believers became frustrated with the Hebrew-speaking believers. The Greeks complained that the Greek-speaking widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2 The twelve convened the entire community of disciples.
The Twelve: We could solve this problem ourselves, but that wouldn’t be right. We need to focus on proclaiming God’s message, not on distributing food. 3 So, friends, find seven respected men from the community of faith. These men should be full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. Whomever you select we will commission to resolve this matter 4 so we can maintain our focus on praying and serving—not meals—but the message.
Life in the new community isn’t perfect. However, the believers don’t allow their linguistic and social barriers to divide the church; instead, the emissaries seize this opportunity to create greater unity between disparate groups. They appoint seven leaders, mostly Greek-speaking (based on their names), to oversee the distribution of food. This movement toward unity will be a challenge to the future church that will so easily be divided by any problem, real or perceived.
5 The whole community—Greek-speaking and Hebrew-speaking—was very pleased with this plan, so they chose seven men: Stephen (a man full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (a Greek-speaking convert from Antioch). 6 These men were presented to the apostles, who then prayed for them and commissioned them by laying their hands on them. 7 The message of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples continued to increase significantly there in Jerusalem. Even priests in large numbers became obedient to the faith.
8 Stephen continually overflowed with extraordinary grace and power, and he was able to perform a number of miraculous signs and wonders in public view. 9 But eventually a group arose to oppose Stephen and the message to which his signs and wonders pointed. (These men were from a group called the Free Synagogue and included Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and Asians.) 10 The Holy Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom in responding to their arguments that they were humiliated; 11 in retaliation, they spread a vicious rumor: “We heard Stephen speak blasphemies against Moses and God.”
12 Their rumor prompted an uprising that included common people, religious officials, and scholars. They surprised Stephen, grabbed him, and hauled him before the council. 13 They convinced some witnesses to give false testimony.
False Witnesses: This fellow constantly degrades the holy temple and mocks our holy law. 14 With our own ears, we’ve heard him say this Jesus fellow, this Nazarene he’s always talking about, will actually destroy the holy temple and will try to change the sacred customs we received from Moses.
15 The entire council turned its gaze on Stephen to see how he would respond. They were shocked to see his face radiant with peace—as if he were a heavenly messenger.
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
Reina-Valera Antigua (RVA)
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.