Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Stephen becomes a target

⁸ Stephen was filled with grace and power, and performed great signs and wonders among the people. ⁹ But some from the “Freemen’s Synagogue,” as it was named, and from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, stood up and disputed with Stephen. ¹⁰ They could not, however, resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.

¹¹ Then they put up men to say, “We heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and against God!” ¹² They aroused the people, the elders and the scribes. They set upon him, seized him, and took him in front of the Assembly. ¹³ They set up false witnesses to say, “This man never stops speaking words against this holy place and the law! ¹⁴ We heard him say that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place, and change the customs which Moses handed down to us!”

¹⁵ Everyone who was sitting in the Assembly looked hard at Stephen. They all saw that his face was like the face of an angel.