Seven Chosen to Serve

1 Now in these days ^kwhen the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists¹ arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in ^lthe 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 ^mTherefore, brothers,² pick out from among you seven men ⁿof good repute, ^ofull of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But ^pwe 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, ^qa man full of faith and ^rof the Holy Spirit, and ^sPhilip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ^ta proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and ^uthey prayed and ^vlaid their hands on them.

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

Stephen Is Seized

8 And Stephen, full of grace and ^zpower, 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.

2 And Stephen said:

^j“Brothers and fathers, hear me. ^kThe God ^lof glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, ^mbefore he lived in Haran,

51 ^d“You stiff-necked people, ^euncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^fAs your fathers did, so do you. 52 ^gWhich of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^hthe Righteous One, ⁱwhom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law ^jas delivered by angels and ^kdid not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things ^lthey were enraged, and they ^mground their teeth at him. 55 But he, ⁿfull of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^othe glory of God, and Jesus standing ^pat the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see ^qthe heavens opened, and ^rthe Son of Man standing ^pat the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together¹ at him. 58 Then ^sthey cast him out of the city and ^tstoned him. And ^uthe witnesses laid down their garments ^vat the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, ^whe called out, “Lord Jesus, ^xreceive my spirit.” 60 And ^yfalling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^z“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^ahe fell asleep.

Put Not Your Trust in Princes

2 ^kLike newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual ^lmilk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have ^mtasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to him, a living stone ⁿrejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 ^oyou yourselves like living stones are being built up as ^pa spiritual house, to be ^qa holy priesthood, ^rto offer spiritual sacrifices ^sacceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

7 So the honor is for you who ^vbelieve, but for those who ^vdo not believe,

8 and

They stumble because they disobey the word, ^yas they were destined to do.

9 But you are ^za chosen race, ^aa royal ^bpriesthood, ^ca holy nation, ^da people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you ^eout of darkness into ^fhis marvelous light. 10 ^gOnce you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

1 ^d“Let not your hearts be troubled. ^eBelieve in God;¹ believe also in me. 2 In ^fmy Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that ^gI go to prepare a place for you?² 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you ^hto myself, that ⁱwhere I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”³ 5 ^jThomas said to him, “Lord, ^kwe do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am ^lthe way, and ^mthe truth, and ⁿthe life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 ^oIf you had known me, you would have ^pknown my Father also.⁴ From now on you do know him and ^qhave seen him.”

8 ^rPhilip said to him, “Lord, ^sshow us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? ^tWhoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that ^uI am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you ^vI do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that ^uI am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else ^wbelieve on account of the works themselves.

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^xwhoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I ^yam going to the Father. 13 ^zWhatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that ^athe Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 ^zIf you ask me⁵ anything in my name, I will do it.