Act 6-8 | ESV | STEP | Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number , a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution .

1 Now in these days ^awhen the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists ^{▼▼That is, Greek-speaking Jews} arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in ^cthe daily distribution. 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 ^dTherefore, brothers, ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters} pick out from among you seven men ^fof good repute, ^gfull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But ^hwe 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, ⁱa man full of faith and ^jof the Holy Spirit, and ^kPhilip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ^la proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and ^mthey prayed and ⁿlaid their hands on them.

7 And ^othe word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests ^pbecame obedient to ^qthe faith.

Stephen Is Seized

8 And Stephen, full of grace and ^rpower, 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 ^sthey could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then ^tthey 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, 13 and they ^uset up false ^vwitnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against ^wthis holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth ^xwill destroy this place and will ^ychange ^zthe customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face ^aawas like the face of an angel.

Acts 7

Stephen’s Speech

1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

^ab“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^acThe God ^adof glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^aebefore he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ^af‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 ^agThen he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And ^ahafter his father died, ^aiGod removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised ^ajto give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, ^akthough he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that ^alhis offspring would ^ambe sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them ^anfour hundred years. 7 ‘But ^aoI will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out ^apand worship me in this place.’ 8 And ^aqhe gave him the covenant of circumcision. And ^arso Abraham became the father of Isaac, and ^ascircumcised him on the eighth day, and ^atIsaac became the father of Jacob, and ^auJacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, ^avjealous of Joseph, ^awsold him into Egypt; but ^axGod was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and ^aygave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, ^azwho made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now ^bathere came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 ^bbBut when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And ^bcon the second visit ^bdJoseph made himself known to his brothers, and ^beJoseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And ^bfJoseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, ^bgseventy-five persons in all. 15 And ^bhJacob went down into Egypt, and ^bihe died, he ^bjand our fathers, 16 and ^bkthey were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that ^blAbraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But ^bmas the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, ^bnthe people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king ^bowho did not know Joseph. 19 ^bpHe dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, ^bqso that they would not be kept alive. 20 ^brAt this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and ^bswhen he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses ^btwas instructed in ^buall the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was ^bvmighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart ^bwto visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 ^bxAnd on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ^by‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort ^bzMoses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, ^cawhere he became the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, ^cban angel appeared to him ^ccin the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ^cd‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ^ce‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 ^cfI have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and ^cghave heard their groaning, and ^chI have come down to deliver them. ^ciAnd now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, ^cjsaying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer ^ckby the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 ^clThis man led them out, performing ^cmwonders and signs ^cnin Egypt and ^coat the Red Sea and ^cpin the wilderness for ^cqforty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you ^cra prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one ^cswho was in the congregation in the wilderness with ^ctthe angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. ^cuHe received ^cvliving ^cworacles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and ^cxin their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ^cy‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And ^czthey made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and ^dawere rejoicing in ^dbthe works of their hands. 42 But ^dcGod turned away and ^ddgave them over to worship ^dethe host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

^df“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
^dgduring the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 You took up the tent of ^dhMoloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44 “Our fathers had ^dithe tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses ^djdirected him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn ^dkbrought it in with Joshua when they ^dldispossessed the nations ^dmthat God drove out before our fathers. So it was ^dnuntil the days of David, 46 ^dowho found favor in the sight of God and ^dpasked to find a dwelling place for ^dqthe God of Jacob. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob} 47 But it was ^dsSolomon who built a house for him. 48 ^dtYet the Most High does not dwell ^duin houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49 ^dv“‘Heaven is my throne,
^dwand the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 ^dx“You stiff-necked people, ^dyuncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^dzAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 ^eaWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^ebthe Righteous One, ^ecwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law ^edas delivered by angels and ^eedid not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things ^efthey were enraged, and they ^egground their teeth at him. 55 But he, ^ehfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^eithe glory of God, and Jesus standing ^ejat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see ^ekthe heavens opened, and ^elthe Son of Man standing ^emat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together ^{▼▼Or rushed with one mind} at him. 58 Then ^eothey cast him out of the city and ^epstoned him. And ^eqthe witnesses laid down their garments ^erat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, ^eshe called out, “Lord Jesus, ^etreceive my spirit.” 60 And ^eufalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^ev“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^ewhe fell asleep.

Acts 8

Saul Ravages the Church

1 And ^exSaul ^eyapproved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and ^ezthey were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But ^faSaul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he ^fbdragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

4 Now ^fcthose who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 ^fdPhilip went down to the city ^{▼▼Some manuscripts a city} of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 ^ffAnd the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him ^fgand saw the signs that he did. 7 For ^fhunclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So ^fithere was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

9 But there was a man named Simon, ^fjwho had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, ^fksaying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, ^fl“This man is the power of God that is called ^fmGreat.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had ^fnamazed them with his magic. 12 But when ^fothey believed Philip as he preached good news ^fpabout the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, ^fqthey were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And ^frseeing signs and ^fsgreat miracles ^{▼▼Greek works of power} performed, ^fuhe was amazed.

14 Now when ^fvthe apostles at Jerusalem heard that ^fwSamaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them ^fxthat they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for ^fyhe had not yet ^fzfallen on any of them, but ^gathey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then ^gbthey laid their hands on them and ^gcthey received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, ^gd“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God ^gewith money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for ^gfyour heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, ^ggif possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in ^ghthe gall ^{▼▼That is, a bitter fluid secreted by the liver; bile} of bitterness and in ^gjthe bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, ^gk“Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, ^glpreaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 Now ^gman angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south ^{▼▼Or go at about noon} to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an ^goEthiopian, a ^gpeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, ^gqwho was in charge of all her treasure. ^grHe had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, ^gs“How can I, unless someone ^gtguides me?” And ^guhe invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

^gv“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his ^gwhumiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and ^gxbeginning with this Scripture ^gyhe told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! ^gzWhat prevents me from being baptized?” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add all or most of verse 37: And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”} 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, ^hbthe Spirit of the Lord ^hccarried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.