The Choosing of the Seven 1In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jewsa because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, “It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Holyb Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them 4and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, as well as Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.c 6They presented these seven to the apostles,d who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priestse became obedient to the faith. The Arrest of Stephen 8Now Stephen, who was full of faithf and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia.g They disputed with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. 11Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.” 12So they stirred up the people, elders, and scribes and confronted Stephen. They seized him and brought him before the Sanhedrin,h 13where they presented false witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking blasphemiesi against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” 15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Footnotes: 1 a Literally the Hellenists began to grumble against the Hebrews 3 b CT does not include Holy. 5 c Literally and Nicolas, a convert of Antioch 6 d Literally —whom they set before the apostles, 7 e GOC Jews 8 f CT grace 9 g Literally and those from Cilicia and Asia; the Roman Province of Asia was located in what is now western Turkey. 12 h Or the Council; also in verse 15 13 i CT does not include blasphemies. The Holy Bible, Majority Standard Bible, MSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain. The MSB is the Byzantine Majority Text version of the BSB, including the BSB OT plus the NT translated according to the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine Majority Text (byzantinetext.com). The MSB includes footnotes for translatable variants from the modern Critical Texts (CT) such as the Nestle Aland GNT, SBL GNT, and Editio Critica Maior. Major variants between the Majority Text (MT) and Textus Receptus (TR) are also noted. This text is a final version draft and is open to public comment and translation recommendations. please send all corrections and recommendations to the Berean Bible Translation Committee through the contact page at Berean.Bible. Bible Hub |
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