Acts 6

⁹Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!

³⁵and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.

⁴¹Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.

³⁹So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

⁷So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.

⁴⁷praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

⁹At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone.

¹⁰The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.

¹⁷But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.

¹⁸Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.

⁴A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.

³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?”

¹¹So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?

¹²Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?

²⁷For it seems unreasonable to me to send on a prisoner without specifying the charges against him.”

⁷Furthermore, he must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the snare of the devil.

⁸Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.

¹³Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”

¹⁷But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

¹⁸Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.

¹⁸And the Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man with the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.

¹⁹Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and commission him in their sight.

¹⁰and well known for good deeds such as bringing up children, entertaining strangers, washing the feet of the saints, imparting relief to the afflicted, and devoting herself to every good work.

²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

³And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

¹⁴With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

¹³Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

¹⁰so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

²Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

¹⁴... for this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

²⁴Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

⁸Leaving the next day, we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the Seven.

⁵Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.

⁶The crowds all paid close attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform.

⁸Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

¹Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

³Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will assign this responsibility to them

⁶For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.

¹⁰You are to present the Levites before the Lord and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.

²⁴And they prayed, “Lord, You know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two You have chosen

¹⁴Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders.

¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

³And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

²⁰So the word of the Lord powerfully continued to spread and prevail.

²⁴But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

⁶that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.

⁹And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him

²⁶but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—

⁵Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

²⁹And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness,

³⁰as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.”

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.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

¹³For those who have served well as deacons acquire for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

¹⁰but they could not stand up to his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

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

⁴¹And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

²³and sent them with this letter: The apostles and the elders, your brothers, To the brothers among the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings.

³“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

³⁴The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,

³²Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.

¹²But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.

¹⁵For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

⁴My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

¹⁹But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.

²⁰For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

⁴⁶“Never has anyone spoken like this man!” the officers answered.

¹¹When you are brought before synagogues, rulers, and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say.

¹²For at that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say.”

⁸But there is a spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding.

⁵⁹Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.

⁶⁰But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward

¹⁰But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

¹¹So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them.

⁶But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

²¹For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”

²⁰When they heard this, they glorified God. Then they said to Paul, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.

²¹But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.

¹⁸A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

⁵⁷Those who had arrested Jesus led Him away to the house of Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and elders had gathered.

¹⁸and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.

¹⁹When the girl’s owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the marketplace.

²⁰They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil

²⁷They brought them in and made them stand before the Sanhedrin, where the high priest interrogated them.

¹¹Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”

²⁸crying out, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and against our law and against this place. Furthermore, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”

⁵All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.

¹²Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

¹⁵So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),

⁵⁸They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

²⁶Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.

²⁶At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth, but heaven as well.”

²⁷The words “Once more” signify the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that the unshakable may remain.

²¹But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.

¹Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

³So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.

⁴But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

²¹“Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

¹Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed.

²⁹And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the Lord.

³⁰Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him.

²There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

¹⁸And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

⁷Now if the ministry of death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at the face of Moses because of its fleeting glory,

⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?