Acts 6

The Choosing of the Seven

6In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,^d the Hellenistic Jews^ae among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows^f were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.^{g 2}So the Twelve gathered all the disciples^h together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of Godⁱ in order to wait on tables. ³Brothers and sisters,^j choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit^k and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them^{l 4}and will give our attention to prayer^m and the ministry of the word.”

⁵This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen,ⁿ a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;^o also Philip,^p Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. ⁶They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed^q and laid their hands on them.^r

⁷So the word of God spread.^s The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,^t and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Stephen Seized

⁸Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs^u among the people. ⁹Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene^v and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia^w and Asia^x—who began to argue with Stephen. ¹⁰But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.^y

¹¹Then they secretly^z persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”^a

¹²So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.^{b 13}They produced false witnesses,^c who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place^d and against the law. ¹⁴For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place^e and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”^f

¹⁵All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin^g looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.