1 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 Προσκαλεσάμενοι δὲ οἱ δώδεκα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μαθητῶν, εἶπον, Οὐκ ἀρεστόν ἐστιν ἡμᾶς, καταλείψαντας τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, διακονεῖν τραπέζαις. 3 Ἐπισκέψασθε οὖν, ἀδελφοί, ἄνδρας ἐξ ὑμῶν μαρτυρουμένους ἑπτά, πλήρεις πνεύματος ἁγίου καὶ σοφίας, οὓς καταστήσομεν ἐπὶ τῆς χρείας ταύτης. 4 Ἡμεῖς δὲ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου προσκαρτερήσομεν. 5 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 οὓς ἔστησαν ἐνώπιον τῶν ἀποστόλων· καὶ προσευξάμενοι ἐπέθηκαν αὐτοῖς τὰς χεῖρας. 7 Καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ηὔξανε, καὶ ἐπληθύνετο ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν μαθητῶν ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ σφόδρα, πολύς τε ὄχλος τῶν ἱερέων ὑπήκουον τῇ πίστει. 8 Στέφανος δὲ πλήρης πίστεως καὶ δυνάμεως ἐποίει τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα μεγάλα ἐν τῷ λαῷ. 9 Ἀνέστησαν δέ τινες τῶν ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῆς λεγομένης Λιβερτίνων, καὶ Κυρηναίων, καὶ Ἀλεξανδρέων, καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ Κιλικίας καὶ Ἀσίας, συζητοῦντες τῷ Στεφάνῳ. 10 Καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυον ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι ᾧ ἐλάλει. 11 Τότε ὑπέβαλον ἄνδρας λέγοντας ὅτι Ἀκηκόαμεν αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος ῥήματα βλάσφημα εἰς Μωσῆν καὶ τὸν Θεόν. 12 Συνεκίνησάν τε τὸν λαὸν καὶ τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους καὶ τοὺς γραμματεῖς, καὶ ἐπιστάντες συνήρπασαν αὐτόν, καὶ ἤγαγον εἰς τὸ συνέδριον, 13 ἔστησάν τε μάρτυρας ψευδεῖς λέγοντας, Ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος οὐ παύεται ῥήματα βλάσφημα λαλῶν κατὰ τοῦ τόπου τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου καὶ τοῦ νόμου· 14 ἀκηκόαμεν γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος οὗτος καταλύσει τὸν τόπον τοῦτον, καὶ ἀλλάξει τὰ ἔθη ἃ παρέδωκεν ἡμῖν Μωϋσῆς. 15 Καὶ ἀτενίσαντες εἰς αὐτὸν ἅπαντες οἱ καθεζόμενοι ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ, εἶδον τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ πρόσωπον ἀγγέλου.
Acts · Textus Receptus (Boyd collation)
Acts 6 Textus Receptus (Boyd collation)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Collates Stephanus 1550, Elzevir 1624 and Scrivener 1881 (not the 1894 Scrivener edition). The variant footnotes are not shown.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Nicanor
One of the seven men chosen to oversee the daily distribution at Jerusalem.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5
Nicolas
A convert to Judaism from Antioch, listed last among the seven men chosen at Jerusalem.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5
Parmenas
One of the seven men chosen to oversee the daily distribution at Jerusalem.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5
Philip
One of the seven chosen at Jerusalem; he preached in Samaria, baptized the Ethiopian official, and later hosted Paul at Caesarea with his four prophesying daughters.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5; Acts 8:5; Acts 8:38
Prochorus
One of the seven men of good reputation chosen to oversee the daily distribution at Jerusalem.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5
Stephen
One of the seven chosen to serve tables, full of faith and the Holy Spirit; he was stoned after his speech to the Sanhedrin and became the first martyr.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5; Acts 7:59; Acts 8:2
Timon
One of the seven men chosen to oversee the daily distribution at Jerusalem.
Cited in the guide: Acts 6:5
Cross references (15)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 James 5:9; Acts 4:35; Acts 2:41; Acts 9:39; Acts 6:7
- 2 Deuteronomy 1:9–14; Exodus 18:17–26; 2 Timothy 2:4; Nehemiah 6:3; Numbers 11:11–13
- 3 1 Timothy 3:7–15; Deuteronomy 1:13; James 3:17–18; Numbers 27:18–19; 1 Timothy 5:10
- 4 Acts 1:14; 1 Timothy 4:13–16; Philippians 1:9–11; Acts 2:42; 2 Timothy 4:2
- 5 Acts 11:24; Acts 21:8; Acts 8:5–40; Acts 6:8; Acts 7:1–8:2
- 6 2 Timothy 1:6; Numbers 8:10; Acts 1:24; 1 Timothy 4:14; Acts 8:17
- 7 Acts 19:20; Acts 12:24; Colossians 1:6; Hebrews 5:9; Romans 16:26
- 8 Acts 4:29–30; Acts 6:5; Acts 7:55; 1 Timothy 3:13; Acts 6:10
- 9 Acts 15:41; Acts 15:23; Acts 22:3; Acts 23:34; Matthew 27:32
- 10 Luke 21:15; 1 Corinthians 2:4; Matthew 10:19–20; John 7:46; Luke 12:11–12
- 11 Matthew 26:59–60; 1 Kings 21:10–13; Acts 18:6; Acts 15:21; Acts 21:28
- 12 Proverbs 15:18; Acts 14:2; Matthew 26:57; Acts 5:18; Acts 16:19–21
- 13 Acts 6:11; Acts 21:28; Psalm 56:5; Psalm 27:12; Matthew 24:15
- 14 Daniel 9:26; Hebrews 12:26–28; Acts 21:21; Acts 15:1; Galatians 4:3–5
- 15 Matthew 13:43; Ecclesiastes 8:1; Exodus 34:29–35; Matthew 17:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
See how even among the seven one was preëminent, and won the first prize. For though the ordination was common to him and them, yet he drew upon himself greater grace.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 11 (1889)
… the tables, previous to the time when Paul was brought to the faith of Christ, the reply given by the apostles, who before then had adhered to the Lord, was: "It is not good that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables." Then it was that they provided for the ordination of deacons, that they themselves might …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 7 (1888)