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Acts 6

1In those days, as the disciples increased in number, a complaint arose from the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily service. 2The twelve called together the multitude of disciples and said, “It is not right for us to leave the word of God to serve tables. 3Brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will appoint over this need. 4But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5The proposal pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch. 6They placed them before the apostles, and after praying they laid their hands on them. 7The word of God continued to grow, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large multitude of priests became obedient to the faith.

8Stephen, full of grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9But some from the synagogue called that of the Freedmen, both Cyrenians and Alexandrians and those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10They could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. 11Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, came upon him, seized him, and brought him before the council. 13They presented false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place and the law, 14for we have heard him say that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15All who sat in the council looked intently at him and saw his face like the face of an angel.

Translation notes 4

6:1–4 — Groups and service. Greek-speaking Jews are the Hellenists; “Hebrews” identifies the other Jewish group, generally associated with a Semitic language and culture. This is not a contrast between Jews and non-Jews. The daily service supplies widows' needs. The repeated service language links this work with serving the word; the seven are not explicitly called “deacons” in this chapter.

6:3, 5–6 — Appointment. “Men” follows the specifically male noun. Verse 3 has “Spirit” without the adjective “Holy” in the base; verse 5 supplies both words. The laying on of hands most naturally describes the apostles' action, but the Greek does not restate the subject.

6:8–10 — Grace, synagogue, and Spirit. Some witnesses read “faith” instead of “grace” in verse 8. The synagogue description can be divided in ways that suggest more than one group or synagogue. “Spirit” in verse 10 is understood as the Holy Spirit in this context, though the word itself has no adjective there.

6:11–15 — Accusations. The claims are attributed to men described as false witnesses. They are not silently converted into the narrator's own account of Stephen's teaching. The face is compared with an angel's; no additional physical details are supplied.