Acts 6
1 During that time, many more people were becoming believers. [Some of them were from other countries and spoke only the Greek language, but most of them had always lived in Israel and spoke the Hebrew language]. Those who spoke Greek began to complain about those who spoke Hebrew. They were saying. “When [you Hebrew-speaking believers] distribute [food or money] to widows every day, you are not giving fair amounts to the widows who speak Greek!”
tasmin samaye śiṣyāṇāṁ bāhulyāt prātyahikadānasya viśrāṇanai rbhinnadeśīyānāṁ vidhavāstrīgaṇa upekṣite sati ibrīyalokaiḥ sahānyadeśīyānāṁ vivāda upātiṣṭhat|
2 So, [after the] twelve [apostles had heard what they were complaining about], they summoned all the [other] believers [in Jerusalem to meet] together. Then the apostles said [to those other believers], “We [(exc)] would not be doing right if we stopped [preaching and teaching] God’s message [about Jesus] in order to distribute food [MTY] [and money to the widows]!
tadā dvādaśapreritāḥ sarvvān śiṣyān saṁgṛhyākathayan īśvarasya kathāpracāraṁ parityajya bhojanagaveṣaṇam asmākam ucitaṁ nahi|
3 So, fellow believers, carefully choose seven men from among you, men whom [you] know that the Spirit [of God] controls completely and who are very wise. Then we [(exc)] will appoint them to do this work,
ato he bhrātṛgaṇa vayam etatkarmmaṇo bhāraṁ yebhyo dātuṁ śaknuma etādṛśān sukhyātyāpannān pavitreṇātmanā jñānena ca pūrṇān sapprajanān yūyaṁ sveṣāṁ madhye manonītān kuruta,
4 and we [(exc)] will devote our time to pray and to preach and teach the message [about Jesus].”
kintu vayaṁ prārthanāyāṁ kathāpracārakarmmaṇi ca nityapravṛttāḥ sthāsyāmaḥ|
5 What the apostles recommended pleased all of the [other] believers. So they group chose Stephen. He was a man who strongly believed [in God] and whom the Holy Spirit controlled completely. [They also chose] Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas who was from Antioch [city]. Nicolas had accepted the Jewish religion [before he had believed in Jesus].
etasyāṁ kathāyāṁ sarvve lokāḥ santuṣṭāḥ santaḥ sveṣāṁ madhyāt stiphānaḥ philipaḥ prakharo nikānor tīman parmmiṇā yihūdimatagrāhī-āntiyakhiyānagarīyo nikalā etān paramabhaktān pavitreṇātmanā paripūrṇān sapta janān
6 They brought these [seven] men to the apostles. Then after the apostles prayed [for those men], they placed their hands on [the heads of each one of] them [to appoint them to do that work].
preritānāṁ samakṣam ānayan, tataste prārthanāṁ kṛtvā teṣāṁ śiraḥsu hastān ārpayan|
7 So [the believers] continued to tell many people the message from God. (The number of people in Jerusalem who believed [in Jesus] was increasing greatly./More and more people in Jerusalem were believing in Jesus.) [Among them] were many [Jewish] priests who were believing the message [about Jesus].
aparañca īśvarasya kathā deśaṁ vyāpnot viśeṣato yirūśālami nagare śiṣyāṇāṁ saṁkhyā prabhūtarūpeṇāvarddhata yājakānāṁ madhyepi bahavaḥ khrīṣṭamatagrāhiṇo'bhavan|
8 God was enabling Stephen to do many things by God’s power. He was doing many amazing miracles among the [Jewish] people.
stiphāno viśvāsena parākrameṇa ca paripūrṇaḥ san lokānāṁ madhye bahuvidham adbhutam āścaryyaṁ karmmākarot|
9 However, some people opposed Stephen. They were Jews from a group [that regularly met together in a Jewish meeting place that was] {[that people]} called the Freedmen’s Meeting Place. [Those people were from] Cyrene and Alexandria [cities] and [also] from Cilicia and Asia [provinces]. They all began to argue with Stephen.
tena libarttinīyanāmnā vikhyātasaṅghasya katipayajanāḥ kurīṇīyasikandarīya-kilikīyāśīyādeśīyāḥ kiyanto janāścotthāya stiphānena sārddhaṁ vyavadanta|
10 But they were not able (to refute [what he said/to prove that what he said was wrong]), [because God’s] Spirit enabled him to speak very wisely.
kintu stiphāno jñānena pavitreṇātmanā ca īdṛśīṁ kathāṁ kathitavān yasyāste āpattiṁ karttuṁ nāśaknuvan|
11 Then that group secretly persuaded [some] men to [falsely accuse Stephen. saying], “We [(exc)] heard him say bad things about Moses and God.”
paścāt tai rlobhitāḥ katipayajanāḥ kathāmenām akathayan, vayaṁ tasya mukhato mūsā īśvarasya ca nindāvākyam aśrauṣma|
12 So, [by saying that], they made the [other Jewish] people angry [at Stephen, including] the elders and the teachers of the [Jewish] laws. Then [they all] seized Stephen and took him to the Jewish Council.
te lokānāṁ lokaprācīnānām adhyāpakānāñca pravṛttiṁ janayitvā stiphānasya sannidhim āgatya taṁ dhṛtvā mahāsabhāmadhyam ānayan|
13 They [also] brought in some other men who accused Stephen falsely [about several things]. They said, “This fellow continually says bad things about this holy Temple and about the laws [that Moses received from God].
tadanantaraṁ katipayajaneṣu mithyāsākṣiṣu samānīteṣu te'kathayan eṣa jana etatpuṇyasthānavyavasthayo rnindātaḥ kadāpi na nivarttate|
14 Specifically, we [(exc)] have heard him say that this Jesus from Nazareth [town] will destroy this Temple and will tell us to obey different customs than Moses [taught our ancestors].”
phalato nāsaratīyayīśuḥ sthānametad ucchinnaṁ kariṣyati mūsāsamarpitam asmākaṁ vyavaharaṇam anyarūpaṁ kariṣyati tasyaitādṛśīṁ kathāṁ vayam aśṛṇuma|
15 When all [the people] who were sitting in the Council [room heard that, and as they] all stared at Stephen, they saw that his face was [shining] [SIM] like the face of an angel.
tadā mahāsabhāsthāḥ sarvve taṁ prati sthirāṁ dṛṣṭiṁ kṛtvā svargadūtamukhasadṛśaṁ tasya mukham apaśyan|
