Acts
Chapter 6
1 1 At that time, as the number of disciples continued to grow, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
那时候，门徒们渐渐增多，希腊化的犹太人，对希伯来人发出了怨言，因为他们在日常的供应品上，疏忽了他们的寡妇。
2 2 So the Twelve called together the community of the disciples and said, ＂It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to serve at table. 3
于是十二宗徒召集众门徒说：＂让我们放弃天主的圣言，而操管饮食，实在不相宜。
3 Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task,
所以，弟兄们！当从你们中检定七位有好声望，且充满圣神和智慧的人，派他们管这要务。
4 whereas we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.＂
至于我们，我们要专务祈祷，并为真道服役。＂
5 The proposal was acceptable to the whole community, so they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and the holy Spirit, also Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
这番话得了全体的悦服，就选了斯德望，他是位充满信德和圣神的人，和斐理伯、仆洛曷洛、尼加诺尔、提孟、帕尔默纳及尼苛劳，他是个归依犹太教的安提约基雅人，
6 They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them. 4
叫他们立在宗徒面前；宗徒们祈祷以后，就给他们覆了手。
7 The word of God continued to spread, and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.
天主的道渐渐发扬，门徒的数目在耶路撒冷大为增加，司祭中也有许多人，服从了信仰。
8 5 Now Stephen, filled with grace and power, was working great wonders and signs among the people.
斯德望充满恩宠和德能，在百姓中显大奇迹，行大征兆。
9 Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and people from Cilicia and Asia, came forward and debated with Stephen,
当时，有些称为＂自由人＂会堂中的人，以及基勒乃和亚历山大里亚人的会堂的人，还有些属基里基雅和亚细亚会堂的人，起来，同斯德望辩论；
10 but they could not withstand the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke.
但是他们敌不住他的智慧，因为他是藉圣神说话。
11 Then they instigated some men to say, ＂We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.＂
于是他们便怂涌一些人，说：＂我们听见他说过亵渎梅瑟和天主的话。＂
12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
他们又煽动了百姓、长老和经师，一同跑来，捉住了他，解送到公议会。
13 They presented false witnesses 6 who testified, ＂This man never stops saying things against (this) holy place and the law.
他们并设下假见证，说：＂这人不断地说反对圣地和法律的话，
14 For we have heard him claim that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.＂
因为我们曾听见他说：这个纳匝肋人耶稣要毁灭这个地方，并要改革梅瑟给我们传下的常例。＂
15 All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
所有坐在公议会的人都注目看他，见他的面容好象天使的面容。
Footnotes(注解)
1 [1-7] The Hellenists . . . the Hebrews: the Hellenists were not necessarily Jews from the diaspora, but were more probably Palestinian Jews who spoke only Greek. The Hebrews were Palestinian Jews who spoke Hebrew or Aramaic and who may also have spoken Greek. Both groups belong to the Jerusalem Jewish Christian community. The conflict between them leads to a restructuring of the community that will better serve the community's needs. The real purpose of the whole episode, however, is to introduce Stephen as a prominent figure in the community whose long speech and martyrdom will be recounted in Acts 7.
2 [2-4] The essential function of the Twelve is the ＂service of the word,＂ including development of the kerygma by formulation of the teachings of Jesus.
3 [2] To serve at table: some commentators think that it is not the serving of food that is described here but rather the keeping of the accounts that recorded the distribution of food to the needy members of the community. In any case, after Stephen and the others are chosen, they are never presented carrying out the task for which they were appointed (Acts 6:2-3). Rather, two of their number, Stephen and Philip, are presented as preachers of the Christian message. They, the Hellenist counterpart of the Twelve, are active in the ministry of the word.
4 [6] They . . . laid hands on them: the customary Jewish way of designating persons for a task and invoking upon them the divine blessing and power to perform it.
5 [6:8-8:1] The summary (Acts 6:7) on the progress of the Jerusalem community, illustrated by the conversion of the priests, is followed by a lengthy narrative regarding Stephen. Stephen's defense is not a response to the charges made against him but takes the form of a discourse that reviews the fortunes of God's word to Israel and leads to a prophetic declaration: a plea for the hearing of that word as announced by Christ and now possessed by the Christian community. The charges that Stephen depreciated the importance of the temple and the Mosaic law and elevated Jesus to a stature above Moses (Acts 6:13-14) were in fact true. Before the Sanhedrin, no defense against them was possible. With Stephen, who thus perceived the fuller implications of the teachings of Jesus, the differences between Judaism and Christianity began to appear. Luke's account of Stephen's martyrdom and its aftermath shows how the major impetus behind the Christian movement passed from Jerusalem, where the temple and law prevailed, to Antioch in Syria, where these influences were less pressing.
6 [13] False witnesses: here, and in his account of Stephen's execution (Acts 7:54-60), Luke parallels the martyrdom of Stephen with the death of Jesus.