Acts 6

1 During that time, many more people were becoming believers. [Some of them were from other countries and spoke only the Greek language, but most of them had always lived in Israel and spoke the Hebrew language]. Those who spoke Greek began to complain about those who spoke Hebrew. They were saying. “When [you Hebrew-speaking believers] distribute [food or money] to widows every day, you are not giving fair amounts to the widows who speak Greek!”

Ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις πληθυνόντων τῶν μαθητῶν ἐγένετο γογγυσμὸς τῶν Ἑλληνιστῶν πρὸς τοὺς Ἑβραίους, ὅτι παρεθεωροῦντο ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ τῇ καθημερινῇ αἱ χῆραι αὐτῶν.

2 So, [after the] twelve [apostles had heard what they were complaining about], they summoned all the [other] believers [in Jerusalem to meet] together. Then the apostles said [to those other believers], “We [(exc)] would not be doing right if we stopped [preaching and teaching] God’s message [about Jesus] in order to distribute food [MTY] [and money to the widows]!

προσκαλεσάμενοι δὲ οἱ δώδεκα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μαθητῶν εἶπαν Οὐκ ἀρεστόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς καταλείψαντας τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ διακονεῖν τραπέζαις.

3 So, fellow believers, carefully choose seven men from among you, men whom [you] know that the Spirit [of God] controls completely and who are very wise. Then we [(exc)] will appoint them to do this work,

ἐπισκέψασθε δέ, ἀδελφοί, ἄνδρας ἐξ ὑμῶν μαρτυρουμένους ἑπτὰ πλήρεις Πνεύματος καὶ σοφίας, οὓς καταστήσομεν ἐπὶ τῆς χρείας ταύτης·

4 and we [(exc)] will devote our time to pray and to preach and teach the message [about Jesus].”

ἡμεῖς δὲ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου προσκαρτερήσομεν.

5 What the apostles recommended pleased all of the [other] believers. So they group chose Stephen. He was a man who strongly believed [in God] and whom the Holy Spirit controlled completely. [They also chose] Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas who was from Antioch [city]. Nicolas had accepted the Jewish religion [before he had believed in Jesus].

καὶ ἤρεσεν ὁ λόγος ἐνώπιον παντὸς τοῦ πλήθους, καὶ ἐξελέξαντο Στέφανον, ἄνδρα πλήρη πίστεως καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου, καὶ Φίλιππον καὶ Πρόχορον καὶ Νικάνορα καὶ Τίμωνα καὶ Παρμενᾶν καὶ Νικόλαον προσήλυτον Ἀντιοχέα,

6 They brought these [seven] men to the apostles. Then after the apostles prayed [for those men], they placed their hands on [the heads of each one of] them [to appoint them to do that work].

οὓς ἔστησαν ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ προσευξάμενοι ἐπέθηκαν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας.

7 So [the believers] continued to tell many people the message from God. (The number of people in Jerusalem who believed [in Jesus] was increasing greatly./More and more people in Jerusalem were believing in Jesus.) [Among them] were many [Jewish] priests who were believing the message [about Jesus].

Καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ηὔξανεν, καὶ ἐπληθύνετο ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν μαθητῶν ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ σφόδρα, πολύς τε ὄχλος τῶν ἱερέων ὑπήκουον τῇ πίστει.

8 God was enabling Stephen to do many things by God’s power. He was doing many amazing miracles among the [Jewish] people.

Στέφανος δὲ πλήρης χάριτος καὶ δυνάμεως ἐποίει τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα μεγάλα ἐν τῷ λαῷ.

9 However, some people opposed Stephen. They were Jews from a group [that regularly met together in a Jewish meeting place that was] {[that people]} called the Freedmen’s Meeting Place. [Those people were from] Cyrene and Alexandria [cities] and [also] from Cilicia and Asia [provinces]. They all began to argue with Stephen.

ἀνέστησαν δέ τινες τῶν ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῆς λεγομένης Λιβερτίνων καὶ Κυρηναίων καὶ Ἀλεξανδρέων καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ Κιλικίας καὶ Ἀσίας συνζητοῦντες τῷ Στεφάνῳ,

10 But they were not able (to refute [what he said/to prove that what he said was wrong]), [because God’s] Spirit enabled him to speak very wisely.

καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυον ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῷ Πνεύματι ᾧ ἐλάλει.

11 Then that group secretly persuaded [some] men to [falsely accuse Stephen. saying], “We [(exc)] heard him say bad things about Moses and God.”

τότε ὑπέβαλον ἄνδρας λέγοντας ὅτι Ἀκηκόαμεν αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος ῥήματα βλάσφημα εἰς Μωϋσῆν καὶ τὸν Θεόν·

12 So, [by saying that], they made the [other Jewish] people angry [at Stephen, including] the elders and the teachers of the [Jewish] laws. Then [they all] seized Stephen and took him to the Jewish Council.

συνεκίνησάν τε τὸν λαὸν καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους καὶ τοὺς γραμματεῖς, καὶ ἐπιστάντες συνήρπασαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἤγαγον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον,

13 They [also] brought in some other men who accused Stephen falsely [about several things]. They said, “This fellow continually says bad things about this holy Temple and about the laws [that Moses received from God].

ἔστησάν τε μάρτυρας ψευδεῖς λέγοντας Ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος οὐ παύεται λαλῶν ῥήματα κατὰ τοῦ τόπου τοῦ ἁγίου καὶ τοῦ νόμου·

14 Specifically, we [(exc)] have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth [town] will destroy this Temple and will tell us to obey different customs than Moses [taught our ancestors].”

ἀκηκόαμεν γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος οὗτος καταλύσει τὸν τόπον τοῦτον καὶ ἀλλάξει τὰ ἔθη ἃ παρέδωκεν ἡμῖν Μωϋσῆς.

15 When all [the people] who were sitting in the Council [room heard that, and as they] all stared at Stephen, they saw that his face was [shining] [SIM] like the face of an angel.

καὶ ἀτενίσαντες εἰς αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ καθεζόμενοι ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ εἶδον τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ πρόσωπον ἀγγέλου.