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Acts 6

English Standard Version



1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists[1] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. (Ac 2:41; Ac 2:47; Ac 4:4; Ac 4:35; Ac 5:14; Ac 6:7) 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 Therefore, brothers,[2] pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. (De 1:13; Lu 1:15; Lu 4:1; Ac 6:5; Ac 7:55; Ac 11:24; 1Ti 3:7) 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Ac 1:14) 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, 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 proselyte of Antioch. (Mt 23:15; Ac 2:11; Ac 6:3; Ac 8:5; Ac 11:24; Ac 13:43; Ac 21:8) 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. (Ac 1:24; Ac 8:17; Ac 9:17; Ac 13:3; Ac 19:6; 1Ti 4:14; 1Ti 5:22; 2Ti 1:6; Heb 6:2) 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Ac 12:24; Ac 13:8; Ac 14:22; Ac 16:5; Ac 19:20; Ro 1:5; Col 1:5) 



8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. (Ac 1:8) 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. (Lu 21:14) 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” (1Ki 21:10; 1Ki 21:13; Mt 26:59) 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, (Mt 24:15; Ac 6:11; Ac 7:58; Ac 21:28; Ac 25:8) 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” (Da 9:26; Mt 5:17; Mt 26:61; Ac 15:1; Ac 21:21) 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. (Jud 13:6; Ec 8:1) 

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Acts 6

New International Version



1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[1] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’ 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. 



8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) – Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia – who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.’ 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. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.’ 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. 

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