Acts 6:1-7

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ¹  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ²  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ³  against the native Hebraic Jews, ⁴  because their widows ⁵  were being overlooked ⁶  in the daily distribution of food. ⁷  6:2 So the twelve ⁸  called ⁹  the whole group ¹⁰  of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables. ¹¹  6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, ¹²  seven ¹³  men who are well-attested, ¹⁴  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge ¹⁵  of this necessary task. ¹⁶  6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 6:5 The ¹⁷  proposal pleased the entire group, so ¹⁸  they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with ¹⁹  Philip, ²⁰  Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism ²¹  from Antioch. ²²  6:6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed ²³  and placed ²⁴  their hands on them. 6:7 The word of God continued to spread, ²⁵  the number of disciples in Jerusalem ²⁶  increased greatly, and a large group ²⁷  of priests became obedient to the faith.

Acts 6:1

The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons

6:1 Now in those ²⁸  days, when the disciples were growing in number, ²⁹  a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews ³⁰  against the native Hebraic Jews, ³¹  because their widows ³²  were being overlooked ³³  in the daily distribution of food. ³⁴ 

Acts 3:8

3:8 He ³⁵  jumped up, ³⁶  stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts ³⁷  with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

Acts 3:10

3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations ³⁸  at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement ³⁹  at what had happened to him.

Acts 3:12-13

3:12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, ⁴⁰  why are you amazed at this? Why ⁴¹  do you stare at us as if we had made this man ⁴²  walk by our own power or piety? 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, ⁴³  the God of our forefathers, ⁴⁴  has glorified ⁴⁵  his servant ⁴⁶  Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected ⁴⁷  in the presence of Pilate after he had decided ⁴⁸  to release him.

[6:1]  ¹ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ² tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ³ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  ⁴ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ⁵ sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ⁶ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ⁷ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[6:2]  ⁸ sn The twelve refers to the twelve apostles.

[6:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “calling the whole group…together, said.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενοι (proskalesamenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[6:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the multitude.”

[6:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to serve tables.”

[6:3]  ¹² tn It is not clear from a historical standpoint (but it is unlikely) that women would have been involved in the selection process too. For this reason the translation “brothers” has been retained, rather than “brothers and sisters” (used in contexts where both male and female believers are clearly addressed).

[6:3]  ¹³ sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).

[6:3]  ¹⁴ tn Or “are of good reputation” (BDAG 618 s.v. μαρτυρέω 2.b).

[6:3]  ¹⁵ tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.

[6:3]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.

[6:5]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And the.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[6:5]  ¹⁸ tn The translation “so” has been used to indicate the logical sequence in English.

[6:5]  ¹⁹ tn “With” is smoother English style for an addition like this. Because of differences between Greek and English style, καί (kai), which occurs between each name in the list, has not been translated except preceding the last element.

[6:5]  ²⁰ sn Philip. Note how many of the names in this list are Greek. This suggests that Hellenists were chosen to solve the problem they had been so sensitive about fixing (cf. 6:1).

[6:5]  ²¹ tn Or “a proselyte.”

[6:5]  ²² map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.

[6:6]  ²³ tn Literally this is a participle in the Greek text (προσευξάμενοι, proseuxamenoi). It could be translated as a finite verb (“and they prayed and placed their hands on them”) but much smoother English results if the entire coordinate clause is converted to a relative clause that refers back to the apostles.

[6:6]  ²⁴ tn Or “laid.”

[6:7]  ²⁵ tn Grk “kept on spreading”; the verb has been translated as a progressive imperfect.

[6:7]  ²⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:7]  ²⁷ tn Grk “a great multitude.”

[6:1]  ²⁸ tn Grk “these.” The translation uses “those” for stylistic reasons.

[6:1]  ²⁹ tn Grk “were multiplying.”

[6:1]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the Hellenists,” but this descriptive term is largely unknown to the modern English reader. The translation “Greek-speaking Jews” attempts to convey something of who these were, but it was more than a matter of language spoken; it involved a degree of adoption of Greek culture as well.

[6:1]  ³¹ tn Grk “against the Hebrews,” but as with “Hellenists” this needs further explanation for the modern reader.

[6:1]  ³² sn The care of widows is a major biblical theme: Deut 10:18; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 26:12-13; 27:19; Isa 1:17-23; Jer 7:6; Mal 3:5.

[6:1]  ³³ tn Or “neglected.”

[6:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “in the daily serving.”

[3:8]  ³⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.

[3:8]  ³⁶ tn Grk “Jumping up, he stood.” The participle ἐξαλλόμενος (exallomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. It is possible that the paralyzed man actually jumped off the ground, but more probably this term simply refers to the speed with which he stood up. See L&N 15.240.

[3:8]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the temple.” This is actually a reference to the courts surrounding the temple proper, and has been translated accordingly.

[3:10]  ³⁸ tn Grk “alms,” but this term is not in common use today, so the closest modern equivalent, “donations,” is used instead. The idea is that of a donation to charity.

[3:10]  ³⁹ sn Amazement is a frequent response to miracles of Jesus or the apostles. These took the ancients by as much surprise as they would people today. But in terms of response to what God is doing, amazement does not equal faith (Luke 4:36; 5:9, 26; 7:16).

[3:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or perhaps “People of Israel,” since this was taking place in Solomon’s Portico and women may have been present. The Greek ἄνδρες ᾿Ισραηλῖται (andre" Israhlitai) used in the plural would normally mean “men, gentlemen” (BDAG 79 s.v. ἀνήρ 1.a).

[3:12]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “or why.”

[3:12]  ⁴² tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ⁴³ tc ‡ The repetition of ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) before the names of Isaac and Jacob is found in Ì⁷⁴ א C (A D without article) 36 104 1175 pc lat. The omission of the second and third ὁ θεός is supported by B E Ψ 33 1739 Ï pc. The other time that Exod 3:6 is quoted in Acts (7:32) the best witnesses also lack the repeated ὁ θεός, but the three other times this OT passage is quoted in the NT the full form, with the thrice-mentioned θεός, is used (Matt 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37). Scribes would be prone to conform the wording here to the LXX; the longer reading is thus most likely not authentic. NA²⁷ has the words in brackets, indicating doubts as to their authenticity.

[3:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[3:13]  ⁴⁵ sn Has glorified. Jesus is alive, raised and active, as the healing illustrates so dramatically how God honors him.

[3:13]  ⁴⁶ sn His servant. The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of the promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15.

[3:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “denied,” “disowned.”

[3:13]  ⁴⁸ tn This genitive absolute construction could be understood as temporal (“when he had decided”) or concessive (“although he had decided”).