Acts 6:5
New International Version
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

New Living Translation
Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

English Standard Version
And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

Berean Standard Bible
This 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.

Berean Literal Bible
And the statement was pleasing before the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch, a convert,

King James Bible
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

New King James Version
And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

New American Standard Bible
The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

NASB 1995
The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

NASB 1977
And the statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

Legacy Standard Bible
And this word pleased the whole congregation, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

Amplified Bible
The suggestion pleased the whole congregation; and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith [in Christ Jesus], and [filled with and led by] the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (Nikolaos), a proselyte (Gentile convert) from Antioch.

Christian Standard Bible
This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch.

American Standard Version
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And this statement was pleasing before all the people, and they chose Estephanos, a man who was full of faith and of The Spirit of Holiness, and Philippus, Procuros, Nicanor, Timon, Parmena and Nicholas, an Antiochene proselyte.

Contemporary English Version
This suggestion pleased everyone, and they began by choosing Stephen. He had great faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and also Nicolaus, who worshiped with the Jewish people in Antioch.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the saying was liked by all the multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith, and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.

English Revised Version
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, who was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, who had converted to Judaism in the city of Antioch.

Good News Translation
The whole group was pleased with the apostles' proposal, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a Gentile from Antioch who had earlier been converted to Judaism.

International Standard Version
This suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.

Literal Standard Version
And the thing was pleasing before all the multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch,

Majority Standard Bible
This 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.

New American Bible
The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

NET Bible
The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.

New Revised Standard Version
What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.

New Heart English Bible
And these words pleased the whole gathering. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch;

Webster's Bible Translation
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

Weymouth New Testament
The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.

World English Bible
These words pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch,

Young's Literal Translation
And the thing was pleasing before all the multitude, and they did choose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Choosing of the Seven
4and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 This 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. 6They presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.…

Cross References
Matthew 23:15
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 6:3
Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men confirmed to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will appoint this responsibility to them

Acts 6:8
Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.

Acts 8:5
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them.

Acts 11:19
Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews.

Acts 11:20
But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.


Treasury of Scripture

And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

the saying.

Acts 15:22
Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:

Genesis 41:37
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

Proverbs 15:1,23
A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger…

Stephen.

Acts 6:3,8,10
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business…

Acts 7:1-60
Then said the high priest, Are these things so? …

Acts 8:1,2
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles…

Philip.

Acts 8:5-13,26-40
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them…

Acts 21:8
And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.

Nicolas.

Revelation 2:6,15
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate…

a proselyte.

Acts 13:1
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

Jump to Previous
Antioch Approval Chose Convert Faith Full General Ghost Group Holy Judaism Met Multitude Philip Pleased Pleasing Proposal Proselyte Selected Spirit Statement Stephen Suggestion Whole Words
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Antioch Approval Chose Convert Faith Full General Ghost Group Holy Judaism Met Multitude Philip Pleased Pleasing Proposal Proselyte Selected Spirit Statement Stephen Suggestion Whole Words
Acts 6
1. The apostles, desirous to have the poor cared for,
2. as also careful themselves to dispense the word of God, the food of the soul,
3. recommend,
5. and with the church's consent ordain seven chosen men to the office of deaconship.
7. The word of God prevails,
8. Stephen, full of faith and the Holy Spirit, confuting those with whom he disputed,
12. is brought before the council,
13. and falsely accused of blasphemy against the law and the temple.














(5) And they chose Stephen.--The seven who were chosen all bear Greek names, and it is a natural, though not a necessary, inference, that they were all of the Hellenistic section of the Church, either because that section had a majority, or because the Hebrews generously voted for giving them special representatives of their own. The order of names may represent the actual order of election, Stephen obtaining the largest number of votes, and so on. The position occupied by the new teacher is so prominent that we should welcome anything that threw light on his previous training. Unhappily we cannot advance beyond the region of uncertain tradition, or, at best, of probable inference. The coincidences, however, which suggest that inference are not without interest. (1) The name of Stephanus was not a common one, and appears in few inscriptions. Like so many of the names in Romans 16, however, it is found in those of the Columbarium, or burial-place, of the household of the Empress Livia. The man bearing it is described as a goldsmith (Aurifaber), and as immunis--i.e., exempted from the religious obligations of his trade-guild. He is a freed-man or libertinus. Circumstances, such as the bequest by Herod the Great of his gold plate to Livia (Jos. Ant. xvi. 5, ? 1; xvii. 8, ? 1), indicate an intimate connection between him and the Imperial Court, and make it probable that the goldsmith Stephanus was a Jew. The business was one in which then, as in later ages, Jews conspicuously excelled, and the exemption just mentioned may well have been, as it were, of the nature of a "conscience-clause" in his favour. The name is found also on a tablet in the museum of the Collegio Romano. (2) It is obvious that the "strangers of Rome"--the Jews from the capital of the empire--were likely to be among the most prominent of the Hellenistae at Jerusalem. It was antecedently probable that the name of one of that body should stand first on the list. (3) When Stephen becomes conspicuous as a teacher, the synagogue which is the most prominent scene of his activity is that of the Libertines, who can be none other than the freed-men or emancipated Jews from Rome. (See Note on Acts 6:9.) (4) Jews from Rome were, we have seen, present on the Day of Pentecost, and some conspicuous converts from among them had been made before Stephen appears on the scene. (See Note on Acts 4:37.) (5) The very appointment of the Seven has, as we have seen, its origin in the customs of the trade-guilds of Rome, such as that to which the goldsmith Stephanus had belonged. Taking all these facts together, there seems sufficient ground to believe that in the proto-martyr of the Church, whose teaching and whose prayers exercised so marvellous an influence in the history of the Church of Christ, we have one of the earliest representatives of Roman Christianity. A tradition accepted by Epiphanius in the fourth century leads to another conclusion. Stephen and Philip were both, it was said, of the number of the Seventy who were sent shortly after the last Feast of Tabernacles in our Lord's ministry into every city and village where He Himself would come. That mission, as has been said in the Note on Luke 10:1, was in its very form, symbolic of the admission of the Gentile nations to the kingdom of God; and it would seem from Luke 9:52; Luke 17:11, as if, at that time, Samaria had been the chief scene of our Lord's ministry, and therefore of that of the Seventy. In a mission of such a nature, it was not unlikely that Hellenistic Jews should be more or less prominent, and the assumption of some previous connection with Samaria gives an adequate explanation both of Philip's choice of that region as the scene of his work as an Evangelist (Acts 8:5) and of the general tendency of St. Stephen's speech; perhaps also of one of the real or apparent inaccuracies which criticism has noted as a proof of ignorance either in the speaker or the writer. (See Note on Acts 7:16.) Admitting the comparative lateness of the tradition mentioned by Epiphanius, it was still antecedently probable that men, who had been brought into prominence by their Lord's special choice, would not be passed over in such an election as that now before us; and if, as suggested in the Note on Luke 10:1, the Seventy were the representatives of the Prophets of the New Testament, then it was natural that men should turn to them when they wanted to find men "full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom." . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
[This]
(ho)
Article - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

proposal
λόγος (logos)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3056: From lego; something said; by implication, a topic, also reasoning or motive; by extension, a computation; specially, the Divine Expression.

pleased
ἤρεσεν (ēresen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 700: To please, with the idea of willing service rendered to others; hence almost: I serve. Probably from airo; to be agreeable.

the
τοῦ (tou)
Article - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

whole
παντὸς (pantos)
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 3956: All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

group.
πλήθους (plēthous)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4128: A multitude, crowd, great number, assemblage. From pletho; a fulness, i.e. A large number, throng, populace.

They chose
ἐξελέξαντο (exelexanto)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1586: To pick out for myself, choose, elect, select. Middle voice from ek and lego; to select.

Stephen,
Στέφανον (Stephanon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4736: The same as stephanos; Stephanus, a Christian.

a man
ἄνδρα (andra)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 435: A male human being; a man, husband. A primary word; a man.

full
πλήρης (plērēs)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4134: Full, abounding in, complete, completely occupied with. From pletho; replete, or covered over; by analogy, complete.

of faith
πίστεως (pisteōs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 4102: Faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

[of the] Holy
Ἁγίου (Hagiou)
Adjective - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 40: Set apart by (or for) God, holy, sacred. From hagos; sacred.

Spirit,
Πνεύματος (Pneumatos)
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular
Strong's 4151: Wind, breath, spirit.

as well as
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Philip,
Φίλιππον (Philippon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5376: From philos and hippos; fond of horses; Philippus, the name of four Israelites.

Prochorus,
Πρόχορον (Prochoron)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4402: Prochorus, one of the seven original deacons at Jerusalem. From pro and choros; before the dance; Prochorus, a Christian.

Nicanor,
Νικάνορα (Nikanora)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3527: Nicanor, a proper name. Probably from nikao; victorious; Nicanor, a Christian.

Timon,
Τίμωνα (Timōna)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5096: Timon, one of the seven original deacons at Jerusalem. From time; valuable; Timon, a Christian.

Parmenas,
Παρμενᾶν (Parmenan)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3937: Probably by contraction for Parmenides; constant; Parmenas, a Christian.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Nicolas
Νικόλαον (Nikolaon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3532: Nicolaus, a proper name. From nikos and Laodikeus; victorious over the people; Nicolaus, a heretic.

from Antioch,
Ἀντιοχέα (Antiochea)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 491: An Antiochian, an inhabitant of Antioch. From Antiocheia; an Antiochian or inhabitant of Antiochia.

a convert to Judaism.
προσήλυτον (prosēlyton)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 4339: From the alternate of proserchomai; an arriver from a foreign region, i.e., an acceder to Judaism.


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