Acts 6:3

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 

Acts 6:5

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 

Acts 6:10

6:10 Yet ¹²  they were not able to resist ¹³  the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.

Acts 6:15

6:15 All ¹⁴  who were sitting in the council ¹⁵  looked intently at Stephen ¹⁶  and saw his face was like the face of an angel. ¹⁷ 

Acts 7:55

7:55 But Stephen, ¹⁸  full ¹⁹  of the Holy Spirit, looked intently ²⁰  toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing ²¹  at the right hand of God.

Ephesians 4:11

4:11 It was he ²²  who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ²³ 

Ephesians 4:1

Live in Unity

4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, ²⁴  urge you to live ²⁵  worthily of the calling with which you have been called, ²⁶ 

Ephesians 3:13

3:13 For this reason I ask you ²⁷  not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, ²⁸  which ²⁹  is your glory. ³⁰ 

[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.

[6:10]  ¹² tn Grk “and.” The context, however, indicates that the conjunction carries an adversative force.

[6:10]  ¹³ sn They were not able to resist. This represents another fulfillment of Luke 12:11-12; 21:15.

[6:15]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And all.” 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.

[6:15]  ¹⁵ tn Or “Sanhedrin” (the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[6:15]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “at him”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:15]  ¹⁷ sn His face was like the face of an angel. This narrative description of Stephen’s face adds to the mood of the passage. He had the appearance of a supernatural, heavenly messenger.

[7:55]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Stephen) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:55]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “being full,” but the participle ὑπάρχων (Juparcwn) has not been translated since it would be redundant in English.

[7:55]  ²⁰ tn Grk “looking intently toward heaven, saw.” The participle ἀτενίσας (atenisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[7:55]  ²¹ sn The picture of Jesus standing (rather than seated) probably indicates his rising to receive his child. By announcing his vision, Stephen thoroughly offended his audience, who believed no one could share God’s place in heaven. The phrase is a variation on Ps 110:1.

[4:11]  ²² tn The emphasis on Christ is continued through the use of the intensive pronoun, αὐτός (autos), and is rendered in English as “it was he” as this seems to lay emphasis on the “he.”

[4:11]  ²³ sn Some interpreters have understood the phrase pastors and teachers to refer to one and the same group. This would mean that all pastors are teachers and that all teachers are pastors. This position is often taken because it is recognized that both nouns (i.e., pastors and teachers) are governed by one article in Greek. But because the nouns are plural, it is extremely unlikely that they refer to the same group, but only that the author is linking them closely together. It is better to regard the pastors as a subset of teachers. In other words, all pastors are teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. See ExSyn 284.

[4:1]  ²⁴ tn Grk “prisoner in the Lord.”

[4:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “walk.” The verb “walk” in the NT letters refers to the conduct of one’s life, not to physical walking.

[4:1]  ²⁶ sn With which you have been called. The calling refers to the Holy Spirit’s prompting that caused them to believe. The author is thus urging his readers to live a life that conforms to their saved status before God.

[3:13]  ²⁷ tn Grk “I ask.” No direct object is given in Greek, leaving room for the possibility that either “God” (since the verb is often associated with prayer) or “you” is in view.

[3:13]  ²⁸ tn Grk “my trials on your behalf.”

[3:13]  ²⁹ sn Which. The antecedent (i.e., the word or concept to which this clause refers back) may be either “what I am suffering for you” or the larger concept of the recipients not losing heart over Paul’s suffering for them. The relative pronoun “which” is attracted to the predicate nominative “glory” in its gender and number (feminine singular), making the antecedent ambiguous. Paul’s suffering for them could be viewed as their glory (cf. Col 1:24 for a parallel) in that his suffering has brought about their salvation, but if so his suffering must be viewed as more than his present imprisonment in Rome; it would be a general description of his ministry overall (cf. 2 Cor 11:23-27). The other option is that the author is implicitly arguing that the believers have continued to have courage in the midst of his trials (as not to lose heart suggests) and that this is their glory. Philippians 1:27-28 offers an interesting parallel: The believers’ courage in the face of adversity is a sign of their salvation.

[3:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “Or who is your glory?” The relative pronoun ἥτις (Jhti"), if divided differently, would become ἤ τίς (h ti"). Since there were no word breaks in the original mss, either word division is possible. The force of the question would be that for the readers to become discouraged over Paul’s imprisonment would mean that they were no longer trusting in God’s sovereignty.