^6:1Now in those¹ days, when the disciples were growing in number,² a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews³ against the native Hebraic Jews,⁴ because their widows⁵ were being overlooked⁶ in the daily distribution of food.⁷^6:2So the twelve⁸ called⁹ the whole group¹⁰ of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.¹¹^6:3But carefully select from among you, brothers,¹² seven¹³ men who are well-attested,¹⁴ full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge¹⁵ of this necessary task.¹⁶^6:4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ^6:5The¹⁷ proposal pleased the entire group, so¹⁸ they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with¹⁹ Philip,²⁰ Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism²¹ from Antioch.²²

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Footnotes

1 Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.
2 Grk “were multiplying.”
3 Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well. The Greek-speaking Jews were the Hellenists, Jews who to a greater or lesser extent had adopted Greek thought, customs, and lifestyle, as well as the Greek language. The city of Alexandria in Egypt was a focal point for them, but they were scattered throughout the Roman Empire.
4 Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.
5 The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19–21; 26:12–13; 27:19; Isa 1:17–23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.
6 Or “neglected.”
7 Grk “in the daily serving.” The daily distribution of food. The early church saw it as a responsibility to meet the basic needs of people in their group.
8 The twelve refers to the twelve apostles.
9 Grk “calling the whole group … together, said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενοι (proskalesamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
10 Or “the multitude.”
11 Grk “to serve tables.”
12 It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).
13 Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, 4.18.14 [4.214]).
14 Or “are of good reputation” ( μαρτυρέω 2.b).
15 The translation “put in charge” is given by καθίστημι 2.
16 Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.
17 Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
18 The translation “so” has been used to indicate the logical sequence in English.
19 “With” is smoother English style for an addition like this. Because of differences between Greek and English style, καί (kai), which occurs between each name in the list, has not been translated except preceding the last element.
20 Philip. Note how many of the names in this list are Greek. This suggests that Hellenists were chosen to solve the problem they had been so sensitive about fixing (cf. 6:1).
21 Or “a proselyte.”
22 For location see ; ; ; .

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 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. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 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. 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 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution. The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch.

NLTNew Living Translation

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Now in these days, as the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose by the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the twelve summoned the community of disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we neglect the word of God to serve tables. So, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And the statement pleased the whole group, 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 convert from Antioch),

KJV 1900King James Version

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

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