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!”

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

In Context

2So, 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!

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Cross References

Deuteronomy 26:12Every third year, you must bring to the descendants of Levi and to the foreigners who are living among you and the orphans and the widows ◄a tithe/10 percent► of your crops, in order that in every town they will have plenty to eat.

Job 31:16“I have guided orphans from the time that they were born; I have taken care of them since they were young. So, if it were true that I ate all my food myself and did not share some of it with orphans, or that I refused to give poor people the things that they wanted, or that I caused widows to live ◄in despair/without hope that they would receive any help from anyone►,

Psalms 110:3On the day that you lead your armies into battle, many of your people will volunteer to join your army. Like the dew refreshes the earth early in the morning, young men will encourage you by coming to help you.”

Isaiah 27:6There will be a time when the ◄descendants of Jacob/Israeli people► will prosper like a plant that has good roots; they will be like [MET] trees that bud and blossom and bear a lot of fruit; what they do will bless all the people in the world.

Ezekiel 22:7Your people do not respect/honor their parents; they have oppressed foreigners; they mistreat orphans and widows.

Matthew 23:13Then Jesus said to the religious leaders, “You men who teach the Jewish laws and you Pharisees are hypocrites! There will be terrible punishment for you, because by teaching what is false, you prevent people [MTY/HYP] who are thinking about letting God rule their lives from doing that [MET]. What you are doing is like closing a gate [MET] so that people who are wanting to enter a city cannot go in. As for you, you do not let God rule your lives. Neither do you allow other people to let God rule their lives. What you do is like not going into a house yourselves, and not allowing others to enter it either [MET].”

Matthew Henry on Acts 6:1

In this chapter we have, I. The discontent that was among the disciples about the distribution of the public charity, ver. 1 . II. The election and ordination of seven men, who should take care of that matter, and ease the apostles of the burden, ver. 2-6 . III. The increase of the church, by the addition of many to it, ver. 7 . IV. A particular account of Stephen, one of the seven. 1. His great activity for Christ, ver. 8 . 2. The opposition he met with from the enemies of Christianity, and his disputes with… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

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