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!”
| با افزایش تعداد ایمانداران، شکایتها در میان ایشان به وجود آمد. کسانی که یونانی زبان بودند، گله داشتند که میان بیوه‌زنان ایشان و بیوه‌زنان عبری زبان، تبعیض قائل می‌شوند و به اینان به اندازهٔ آنان خوراک نمی‌دهند. |
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]!
| پس، آن دوازده رسول تمام ایمانداران را جمع کردند و گفتند: «ما باید وقت خود را صرف رساندن پیام خدا به مردم کنیم، نه صرف رساندن خوراک به این و آن. |
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,
| پس برادران عزیز، از میان خود هفت نفر نیک‌نام که پر از روح‌القدس و حکمت باشند انتخاب کنید تا آنان را مسئول این کار کنیم. |
4 and we [(exc)] will devote our time to pray and to preach and teach the message [about Jesus].”
| ما نیز وقت خود را صرف دعا، موعظه و تعلیم خواهیم نمود.» |
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].
| این پیشنهاد را همه پسندیدند و این اشخاص را انتخاب کردند: استیفان (مردی با ایمانی قوی و پر از روح‌القدس)، فیلیپ، پروخروس، نیکانور، تیمون، پرمیناس و نیکلائوس اهل انطاکیه. نیکلائوس یک غیریهودی بود که اول یهودی و بعد مسیحی شده بود. |
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].
| این هفت نفر را به رسولان معرفی کردند و رسولان نیز برای ایشان دعا کرده، دست بر سرشان گذاشتند و برکتشان دادند. |
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].
| پس پیام خدا همچنان در همه جا اعلام می‌شد و تعداد ایمانداران در شهر اورشلیم افزایش می‌یافت. حتی بسیاری از کاهنان یهودی نیز پیرو عیسی شدند. |
8 God was enabling Stephen to do many things by God’s power. He was doing many amazing miracles among the [Jewish] people.
| استیفان نیز که مردی بسیار باایمان و پر از قدرت روح‌القدس بود، در میان مردم معجزات شگفت‌انگیز و نشانه‌های عظیم به‌عمل می‌آورد. |
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.
| اما یک روز چند یهودی از کنیسه‌ای مشهور به «آزاد مردان» برای بحث و مجادله نزد استیفان آمدند. این عده از قیروان، اسکندریهٔ مصر، قیلیقیه و آسیا آمده بودند. |
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.
| ولی کسی نمی‌توانست در برابر حکمت و روحی که استیفان با آن سخن می‌گفت، مقاومت کند. |
11 Then that group secretly persuaded [some] men to [falsely accuse Stephen. saying], “We [(exc)] heard him say bad things about Moses and God.”
| پس آنان به چند نفر رشوه دادند تا بگویند ما شنیدیم که استیفان به موسی و به خدا کفر می‌گفت. |
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.
| این تهمت به شدت مردم و مشایخ و علمای دین را بر ضد استیفان تحریک کرد. پس سران قوم یهود او را گرفتند و برای محاکمه به مجلس شورا بردند. |
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].
| شاهدان دروغین بر ضد استیفان شهادت داده، می‌گفتند که او مرتب به معبد و تورات موسی بد می‌گوید. |
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].”
| می‌گفتند: «ما با گوش خودمان شنیدیم که می‌گفت عیسای ناصری معبد را خراب خواهد کرد و تمام احکام موسی را باطل خواهد ساخت!» |
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.
| در این لحظه، همۀ آنانی که در شورا نشسته بودند، به استیفان خیره شده بودند و دیدند که صورتش همچون صورت فرشته است! |
