Acts 6:3-6

6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, ¹  seven ²  men who are well-attested, ³  full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge ⁴  of this necessary task. ⁵  6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 6:5 The ⁶  proposal pleased the entire group, so ⁷  they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with ⁸  Philip, ⁹  Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism ¹⁰  from Antioch. ¹¹  6:6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed ¹²  and placed ¹³  their hands on them.

Philippians 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul ¹⁴  and Timothy, slaves ¹⁵  of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ¹⁶  with the overseers ¹⁷  and deacons.

[6:3]  ¹ 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]  ² sn Seven. Jewish town councils often had seven members (Josephus, Ant. 4.18.14 [4.214]).

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

[6:3]  ⁴ tn The translation “put in charge” is given by BDAG 492 s.v. καθίστημι 2.

[6:3]  ⁵ tn Grk “of this need”; translated “necessary work” or “needed task” by L&N 42.22.

[6:5]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn The translation “so” has been used to indicate the logical sequence in English.

[6:5]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Or “a proselyte.”

[6:5]  ¹¹ map For location see JP1 F2; JP2 F2; JP3 F2; JP4 F2.

[6:6]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Or “laid.”

[1:1]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:1]  ¹⁵ tn Traditionally, “servants” or “bondservants.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

[1:1]  ¹⁶ map For location see JP1 C1; JP2 C1; JP3 C1; JP4 C1.

[1:1]  ¹⁷ sn The overseers (or “church leaders,” L&N 53.71) is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in Titus 1:6-7 and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between Titus 1:6-7 and 1 Tim 3:1-7.