King James Version · Under Rome
Acts 6
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And in those days, when the number of was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the against the , because their were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called of unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of , and tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Ghost and , whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to , and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose , a man full of and of the Ghost, and , and Prochorus, and , and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of : Whom they set before : and when they had , they on them. And the word of increased; and the number of multiplied in greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the . And , full of and , did great wonders and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain of the , which is called the of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of and of , disputing with . And they were not able to resist the and by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against , and against . And they stirred up the people, and the , and the , and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to , And set up false , which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this place, and : For we have heard him say, that this of shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which us. And all that sat in , looking stedfastly on him, saw as it had been the of .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
Christians read this chapter differently
- Who decides, in a church? · Acts 6:1-6
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.