Acts 6:2-12

2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

3 ¹Therefore, brothers,^[a] pick out from among you seven men ²of good repute, ³full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.

4 But ⁴we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, ⁵a man full of faith and ⁶of the Holy Spirit, and ⁷Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ⁸a proselyte of Antioch.

6 These they set before the apostles, and ⁹they prayed and ¹⁰laid their hands on them.

7 And ¹¹the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests ¹²became obedient to ¹³the faith.

Stephen Is Seized

8 And Stephen, full of grace and ¹⁴power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.

9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.

10 But ¹⁵they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

11 Then ¹⁶they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God."

12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,