Now about this time, when the number of ^adisciples was ^bincreasing, a complaint was made by the ^1cHellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) against the ²native ^dHebrews, because their ^ewidows were being overlooked in ^fthe daily serving of food. 2 So the ¹Twelve called the disciples together and said, “It is not appropriate for us to neglect teaching the word of God in order to serve tables and manage the distribution of food. 3 Therefore, ^abrothers, choose from among you seven men with good reputations men of godly character and moral integrity, ^bfull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will continue to ^adevote ourselves steadfastly to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected ^1aStephen, a man ^bfull of faith in Christ Jesus, and filled with and led by the Holy Spirit, and ^cPhilip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos) , a ^dproselyte (Gentile convert) from ^eAntioch. 6 They brought these men before the apostles; and after ^apraying, they ^blaid their hands on them to dedicate and commission them for this service.

7 And ^athe message of God kept on growing and spreading, and ^bthe number of disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem; and a large number of the priests were becoming obedient to ^cthe faith accepting Jesus as Messiah and acknowledging Him as the Source of eternal salvation.

8 Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great ^awonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people. 9 However, some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves) , both ^aCyrenians and ^bAlexandrians, and some from ^cCilicia and the province of ^dAsia, rose up and questioned and argued with Stephen. 10 But they were not able to successfully withstand and cope with the wisdom and the intelligence and the power and inspiration of the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then to attack him another way they secretly instructed men to say, “We have heard this man Stephen speak blasphemous (slanderous, sacrilegious, abusive) words against Moses and against God.” 12 And they provoked and incited the people, as well as the elders and the scribes, and they ^acame up to Stephen and seized him and brought him before ^bthe Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) . 13 They presented ^afalse witnesses who said, “This man never stops speaking against this ^bholy place and the Law of Moses; 14 for we have heard him say that ^athis Jesus the Nazarene will tear down this place and will change the ^btraditions and customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 Then all those who were sitting in the ^aCouncil, stared intently at him, and they saw that Stephen’s face was like the face of an angel.

Now in those days, while the ^adisciples were ^bmultiplying in number, there was grumbling from the ^1cHellenists against the ^dHebrews, because their ^ewidows were being overlooked in ^fthe daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the ¹congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, ^abrothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, ^bfull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. 4 But we will ^adevote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5 And this word pleased the whole ¹congregation, and they chose ^aStephen, a man ^bfull of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and ^cPhilip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a ^2dproselyte from ^eAntioch. 6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after ^apraying, they ^blaid their hands on them.

7 ^aAnd the word of God kept on spreading, and ^bthe number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great ¹many of the priests were becoming obedient to ^cthe faith.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great ^awonders and ¹signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both ^aCyrenians and ^bAlexandrians, and some from ^cCilicia and ^1dAsia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they ^acame up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to ^bthe Sanhedrin. 13 And they put forward ^afalse witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this ^bholy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that ^athis Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter ^bthe customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the ^aSanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.