This plan pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen. He was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon and Parmenas were chosen too. The group also chose Nicolas from Antioch. He had accepted the Jewish faith.

大众都喜悦这话，就拣选了司提反，乃是大有信心、圣灵充满的人，又拣选腓利、伯罗哥罗、尼迦挪、提门、巴米拿，并进犹太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

这话使全会众都喜悦，就拣选了司提反—他是一个满有信心和圣灵的人；他们又拣选了腓利、伯罗哥罗、尼迦挪、提门、巴米拿，并皈依犹太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

这话使全会众都喜悦，就拣选了司提反—他是一个满有信心和圣灵的人；他们又拣选了腓利、伯罗哥罗、尼迦挪、提门、巴米拿，并皈依犹太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

大家一致同意，便选出充满信心、被圣灵充满的司提凡，此外还有腓利、伯罗哥罗、尼迦挪、提门、巴米拿，以及曾信过犹太教、来自安提阿的外族人尼哥拉。

这个意见全会众都很满意，于是选出司提反，他是一位满有信心和圣灵的人，还有腓利、伯罗哥罗、尼加挪、提门、巴米拿，以及归信犹太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

这话使全体会众都喜悦，于是选出了司提反——他是一个充满信仰和圣灵的人，还有腓利、普罗克罗、尼卡诺、提门、帕米纳，以及入犹太教的安提阿人尼古拉斯。

大眾都喜悅這話，就揀選了司提反，乃是大有信心、聖靈充滿的人，又揀選腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿，並進猶太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

這話使全會眾都喜悅，就揀選了司提反－他是一個滿有信心和聖靈的人；他們又揀選了腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿，並皈依猶太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

這話使全會眾都喜悅，就揀選了司提反－他是一個滿有信心和聖靈的人；他們又揀選了腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿，並皈依猶太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

大家一致同意，便選出充滿信心、被聖靈充滿的司提凡，此外還有腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿，以及曾信過猶太教、來自安提阿的外族人尼哥拉。

這個意見全會眾都很滿意，於是選出司提反，他是一位滿有信心和聖靈的人，還有腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼加挪、提門、巴米拿，以及歸信猶太教的安提阿人尼哥拉，

這話使全羣的眾人都滿意，他們就揀選一個充滿着信心和聖靈的人司提反、以及腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿，和歸依猶太教的安提阿人尼哥拉；

這話使全體會眾都喜悅，於是選出了司提反——他是一個充滿信仰和聖靈的人，還有腓利、普羅克羅、尼卡諾、提門、帕米納，以及入猶太教的安提阿人尼古拉斯。

眾悅其言、遂選司提反、乃充信與聖神者、及腓利、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿、並進教之安提阿人尼哥拉、

眾然其言、遂選士提反、其為人也篤信、感於聖神者也、又選腓力、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門、巴米拿、安提阿進教之尼哥拉、

眾悅其言、遂擇司提反、其為人也、篤信而充滿聖神者、又擇腓立、伯羅哥羅、尼加挪、提門、巴米拿、安提約人進猶太教之尼哥拉、

眾韙其言、遂選信德篤實、聖神充溢之司諦文、以及斐理伯、伯羅哥羅、尼迦挪、提門巴米拿與安提阿之歸化者尼各老、

This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.

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

Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen( a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch( an earlier convert to the Jewish faith).

This proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a convert from Antioch.

The announcement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch.

And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,

And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;

The proposal pleased the whole company. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte from Antioch.

And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:

The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.

These words pleased the whole multitude. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch;

Barnabas was a good man. He was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. Large numbers of people came to know the Lord.

Stephen was full of God’s grace and power. He did great wonders and signs among the people.

The next day we left and arrived at Caesarea. We stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist. He was one of the seven deacons.

Brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men. They must be known as men who are wise and full of the Holy Spirit. We will turn this important work over to them.

Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Messiah.The crowds listened to Philip and saw the signs he did. All of them paid close attention to what he said.Evil spirits screamed and came out of many people. Many people who were disabled or who couldn’t walk were healed.So there was great joy in that city.A man named Simon lived in the city. For quite a while he had practiced evil magic there. He amazed all the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great.And all the people listened to him, from the least important of them to the most important. They exclaimed,“ It is right to call this man the Great Power of God!”He had amazed them for a long time with his evil magic. So they followed him.But Philip announced the good news of God’s kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. So men and women believed and were baptized.Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip everywhere. He was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.The apostles in Jerusalem heard that people in Samaria had accepted God’s word. So they sent Peter and John to Samaria.When they arrived there, they prayed for the new believers. They prayed that they would receive the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.Then Peter and John placed their hands on them. And they received the Holy Spirit.Simon watched as the apostles placed their hands on them. He saw that the Spirit was given to them. So he offered money to Peter and John.He said,“ Give me this power too. Then everyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”Peter answered,“ May your money be destroyed with you! Do you think you can buy God’s gift with money?You have no part or share in this holy work. Your heart is not right with God.Turn away from this evil sin of yours. Pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.I see that you are very bitter. You are a prisoner of sin.”Then Simon answered,“ Pray to the Lord for me. Pray that nothing you have said will happen to me.”Peter and John continued to preach the word of the Lord and tell people about Jesus. Then they returned to Jerusalem. On the way they preached the good news in many villages in Samaria.An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip.“ Go south to the desert road,” he said.“ It’s the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”So Philip started out. On his way he met an Ethiopian official. The man had an important position in charge of all the wealth of the Kandake. Kandake means queen of Ethiopia. This official had gone to Jerusalem to worship.On his way home he was sitting in his chariot. He was reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.The Holy Spirit told Philip,“ Go to that chariot. Stay near it.”So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.“ Do you understand what you’re reading?” Philip asked.“ How can I?” he said.“ I need someone to explain it to me.” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.Here is the part of Scripture the official was reading. It says,“ He was led like a sheep to be killed. Just as lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off, he did not open his mouth.When he was treated badly, he was refused a fair trial. Who can say anything about his children? His life was cut off from the earth.”( Isaiah 53:7, 8)The official said to Philip,“ Tell me, please. Who is the prophet talking about? Himself, or someone else?”Then Philip began with that same part of Scripture. He told him the good news about Jesus.As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official said,“ Look! Here is water! What can stop me from being baptized?”

But he was too wise for them. That’s because the Holy Spirit gave Stephen wisdom whenever he spoke.

Then the high priest questioned Stephen.“ Is what these people are saying true?” he asked.“ Brothers and fathers, listen to me!” Stephen replied.“ The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham. At that time Abraham was still in Mesopotamia. He had not yet begun living in Harran.‘ Leave your country and your people,’ God said.‘ Go to the land I will show you.’( Genesis 12:1)“ So Abraham left the land of Babylonia. He settled in Harran. After his father died, God sent Abraham to this land where you are now living.God didn’t give him any property here. He didn’t even give him enough land to set his foot on. But God made a promise to him and to all his family after him. He said they would possess the land. The promise was made even though at that time Abraham had no child.Here is what God said to him.‘ For 400 years your family after you will be strangers in a country not their own. They will be slaves and will be treated badly.But I will punish the nation that makes them slaves,’ God said.‘ After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’( Genesis 15:13, 14)Then God made a covenant with Abraham. God told him that circumcision would show who the members of the covenant were. Abraham became Isaac’s father. He circumcised Isaac eight days after he was born. Later, Isaac became Jacob’s father. Jacob had 12 sons. They became the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel.“ Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. So they sold him as a slave. He was taken to Egypt. But God was with him.He saved Joseph from all his troubles. God made Joseph wise. He helped him to become the friend of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over Egypt and his whole palace.“ There was not enough food for all Egypt and Canaan. This brought great suffering. Jacob and his sons couldn’t find food.But Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt. So he sent his sons on their first visit.On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was. Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family. The total number of people was 75.Then Jacob went down to Egypt. There he and his family died.Some of their bodies were brought back to Shechem. They were placed in a tomb Abraham had bought. He had purchased it from Hamor’s sons at Shechem. He had purchased it for a certain amount of money.“ In Egypt the number of our people grew and grew. It was nearly time for God to make his promise to Abraham come true.Then‘ a new king came to power in Egypt. Joseph didn’t mean anything to him.’( Exodus 1:8)The king was very evil and dishonest with our people. He treated them badly. He forced them to throw out their newborn babies to die.“ At that time Moses was born. He was not an ordinary child. For three months he was taken care of by his family.Then he was placed outside. But Pharaoh’s daughter took him home. She brought him up as her own son.Moses was taught all the knowledge of the people of Egypt. He became a powerful speaker and a man of action.“ When Moses was 40 years old, he decided to visit the people of Israel. They were his own people.He saw one of them being treated badly by an Egyptian. So he went to help him. He got even by killing the man.Moses thought his own people would realize that God was using him to save them. But they didn’t.The next day Moses saw two Israelites fighting. He tried to make peace between them.‘ Men, you are both Israelites,’ he said.‘ Why do you want to hurt each other?’“ But the man who was treating the other one badly pushed Moses to one side. He said,‘ Who made you ruler and judge over us?Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’( Exodus 2:14)When Moses heard this, he escaped to Midian. He lived there as an outsider. He became the father of two sons there.“ Forty years passed. Then an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush. This happened in the desert near Mount Sinai.When Moses saw the bush, he was amazed. He went over for a closer look. There he heard the Lord say,‘ I am the God of your fathers. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’( Exodus 3:6) Moses shook with fear. He didn’t dare to look.“ Then the Lord said to him,‘ Take off your sandals. You must do this because the place where you are standing is holy ground.I have seen my people beaten down in Egypt. I have heard their groans. I have come down to set them free. Now come. I will send you back to Egypt.’( Exodus 3:5, 7, 8, 10)“ This is the same Moses the two men of Israel would not accept. They had said,‘ Who made you ruler and judge?’ But God himself sent Moses to rule the people of Israel and set them free. He spoke to Moses through an angel. The angel had appeared to him in the bush.So Moses led them out of Egypt. He did wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for 40 years in the desert.“ This is the same Moses who spoke to the Israelites.‘ God will send you a prophet,’ he said.‘ He will be like me. He will come from your own people.’( Deuteronomy 18:15)Moses was with the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. Moses was with our people of long ago. He received living words to pass on to us.“ But our people refused to obey Moses. They would not accept him. In their hearts, they wished they were back in Egypt.They told Aaron,‘ Make us a god who will lead us. This fellow Moses brought us up out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him!’( Exodus 32:1)That was the time they made a statue to be their god. It was shaped like a calf. They brought sacrifices to it. They even enjoyed what they had made with their own hands.But God turned away from them. He let them go on worshiping the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets. There it says,“‘ People of Israel, did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for 40 years in the desert?You have taken with you the shrine of your false god Molek. You have taken with you the star of your false god Rephan. You made statues of those gods to worship. So I will send you away from your country.’( Amos 5:25–27) God sent them to Babylon and even farther.“ Long ago our people were in the desert. They had with them the holy tent. The tent was where the tablets of the covenant law were kept. Moses had made the holy tent as God had commanded him. Moses made it like the pattern he had seen.Our people received the tent from God. Then they brought it with them when they took the land of Canaan. God drove out the nations that were in their way. At that time Joshua was Israel’s leader. The tent remained in the land until David’s time.David was blessed by God. So David asked if he could build a house for the God of Jacob.But it was Solomon who built the temple for God.“ But the Most High God does not live in houses made by human hands. As God says through the prophet,“‘ Heaven is my throne. The earth is under my control. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Where will my resting place be?Didn’t my hand make all these things?’( Isaiah 66:1, 2)“ You stubborn people! You won’t obey! You won’t listen! You are just like your people of long ago! You always oppose the Holy Spirit!Was there ever a prophet your people didn’t try to hurt? They even killed those who told about the coming of the Blameless One. And now you have handed him over to his enemies. You have murdered him.The law you received was given by angels. But you haven’t obeyed it.”When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they became very angry. They were so angry they ground their teeth at Stephen.But he was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw God’s glory. He saw Jesus standing at God’s right hand.“ Look!” he said.“ I see heaven open. The Son of Man is standing at God’s right hand.”When the Sanhedrin heard this, they covered their ears. They yelled at the top of their voices. They all rushed at him.They dragged him out of the city. They began to throw stones at him to kill him. The people who had brought false charges against Stephen took off their coats. They placed them at the feet of a young man named Saul.While the members of the Sanhedrin were throwing stones at Stephen, he prayed.“ Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” he said.Then he fell on his knees. He cried out,“ Lord! Don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he died.And Saul had agreed with the Sanhedrin that Stephen should die. On that day the church in Jerusalem began to be attacked and treated badly. All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.Godly Jews buried Stephen. They mourned deeply for him.

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Among them were Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius from Cyrene. Simeon was also called Niger. Another was Manaen. He had been brought up with Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Saul was among them too.

Some believers had been scattered by the suffering that unbelievers had caused them. They were scattered after Stephen was killed. Those believers traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. But they spread the word only among Jews.

The right ruling at the right time is like golden apples in silver jewelry.A wise judge’s warning to a listening ear is like a gold earring or jewelry made of fine gold.

A gentle answer turns anger away. But mean words stir up anger.

Joy is found in giving the right answer. And how good is a word spoken at the right time!

The plan seemed good to Pharaoh and all his officials.

“ How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You pretenders! You travel everywhere to win one person to your faith. Then you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

Then the apostles, the elders and the whole church decided what to do. They would choose some of their own men who were leaders among the believers. They would send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. So they chose Judas Barsabbas and Silas. They were leaders among the believers.

You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

But you do have this in your favor. You hate the way the Nicolaitans act. I hate it too.

The Spirit of the Lord has filled me with power. He helps me do what is fair. He makes me brave. Now I’m prepared to tell Jacob’s people what they’ve done wrong. I’m ready to tell Israel they’ve sinned.