Acts 6
6
Seven Leaders Are Chosen
1The number of followers was growing. But during this same time, the Greek-speaking followers had an argument with the other followers. The Greek-speaking widows were not getting their share of the food that was given out every day. 2The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together and said, “It is not right for us to stop our work of teaching God’s word in order to serve tables. 3So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your own men who are good, full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will put them in charge of this work. 4Then we can continue to pray and to teach the word of God.”
5The whole group liked the idea, so they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (a man from Antioch who had become a follower of the Jewish religion). 6Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
7The word of God was continuing to spread. The group of followers in Jerusalem increased, and a great number of the Jewish priests believed and obeyed.
Stephen Is Accused
8Stephen was richly blessed by God who gave him the power to do great miracles and signs among the people. 9But some people were against him. They belonged to the synagogue of Free Men (as it was called), which included people from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They all came and argued with Stephen.
10But the Spirit was helping him to speak with wisdom, and his words were so strong that they could not argue with him. 11So they secretly urged some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak against Moses and against God.”
12This upset the people, the elders, and the teachers of the law. They came and grabbed Stephen and brought him to a meeting of the leaders. 13They brought in some people to tell lies about Stephen, saying, “This man is always speaking against this holy place and the law of Moses. 14We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and that Jesus will change the customs Moses gave us.” 15All the people in the meeting were watching Stephen closely and saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.
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Acts 6: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Acts 6
6
The Disciples Choose Seven Men to Help the Apostles
1At that time, as the number of disciples grew, Greek-speaking Jews complained about the Hebrew-speaking Jews. The Greek-speaking Jews claimed that the widows among them were neglected every day when food and other assistance was distributed.
2The twelve apostles called all the disciples together and told them, “It’s not right for us to give up God’s word in order to distribute food. 3So, brothers and sisters, choose seven men whom the people know are spiritually wise. We will put them in charge of this problem. 4However, we will devote ourselves to praying and to serving in ways that are related to the word.”
5The suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, who was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, who had converted to Judaism in the city of Antioch. 6The disciples had these men stand in front of the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on these seven men.
7God’s word continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem grew very large. A large number of priests accepted the faith.
Stephen Is Arrested
8Stephen was a man filled with God’s favor #6:8 Or “grace.” and power. He did amazing things and performed miracles. 9⌞One day⌟ some men from the cities of Cyrene and Alexandria and the provinces of Cilicia and Asia started an argument with Stephen. They belonged to a synagogue called Freedmen’s Synagogue. 10They couldn’t argue with Stephen because he spoke with the wisdom that the Spirit had given him. 11Then they bribed some men to lie.
These men said, “We heard him slander Moses and God.” 12The liars stirred up trouble among the people, the leaders, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. So they went to Stephen, took him by force, and brought him in front of the Jewish council. 13Some witnesses stood up and lied about Stephen. They said, “This man never stops saying bad things about the holy place and Moses’ Teachings. 14We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy the temple and change the customs that Moses gave us.”
15Everyone who sat in the council stared at him and saw that his face looked like an angel’s face.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.