The Early Church

And to him they agreed, and having called near the apostles, having beaten them , they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go;

they, indeed, then, departed from the presence of the sanhedrim, rejoicing that for his name they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour,

every day also in the temple, and in every house, they were not ceasing teaching and proclaiming good news--Jesus the Christ.

And in these days, the disciples multiplying, there came a murmuring of the Hellenists at the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily ministration,

and the twelve, having called near the multitude of the disciples, said, `It is not pleasing that we, having left the word of God, do minister at tables;

look out, therefore, brethren, seven men of you who are well testified of, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may set over this necessity,

and we to prayer, and to the ministration of the word, will give ourselves continually.'

And the thing was pleasing before all the multitude, and they did choose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch,

whom they did set before the apostles, and they, having prayed, laid on them their hands.

And the word of God did increase, and the number of the disciples did multiply in Jerusalem exceedingly; a great multitude also of the priests were obedient to the faith.

And Stephen, full of faith and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people,

and there arose certain of those of the synagogue, called of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia, and Asia, disputing with Stephen,

and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking;

then they suborned men, saying--`We have heard him speaking evil sayings in regard to Moses and God.'

They did stir up also the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and having come upon him , they caught him, and brought him to the sanhedrim;

they set up also false witnesses, saying, `This one doth not cease to speak evil sayings against this holy place and the law,

for we have heard him saying, That this Jesus the Nazarean shall overthrow this place, and shall change the customs that Moses delivered to us;'

and gazing at him, all those sitting in the sanhedrim saw his face as it were the face of a messenger.

And the chief priest said, `Are then these things so?'

and he said, `Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: The God of the glory did appear to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia, before his dwelling in Haran,

and He said to him, Go forth out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and come to a land that I shall shew thee.

`Then having come forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran, and from thence, after the death of his father, He did remove him to this land wherein ye now dwell,

and He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a footstep, and did promise to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him--he having no child.

`And God spake thus, That his seed shall be sojourning in a strange land, and they shall cause it to serve, and shall do it evil four hundred years,

and the nation whom they shall serve I will judge, said God; and after these things they shall come forth and shall do Me service in this place.