The ¹  proposal pleased the entire group, so ²  they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with ³  Philip, ⁴  Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism ⁵  from Antioch. ⁶ 

And now I entrust ¹  you to God and to the message ²  of his grace. This message ³  is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors ¹  has already chosen ²  you to know his will, to see ³  the Righteous One, ⁴  and to hear a command ⁵  from his mouth,

There was a great commotion, ¹  and some experts in the law ²  from the party of the Pharisees stood up ³  and protested strongly, ⁴  “We find nothing wrong ⁵  with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”

For you know the grace ¹  of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.

For indeed he was crucified by reason of weakness, but he lives because of God’s power. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him, because of God’s power toward you.

My confident hope ¹  is that I will in no way be ashamed ²  but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die. ³ 

I have great joy in the Lord because now at last you have again expressed your concern for me. (Now I know you were concerned before but had no opportunity to do anything.) ¹ 

My goal is that ¹  their hearts, having been knit together ²  in love, may be encouraged, and that ³  they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ⁴ 

For though ¹  I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see ²  your morale ³  and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Even though they have the appearance of wisdom ¹  with their self-imposed worship and false humility ²  achieved by an ³  unsparing treatment of the body – a wisdom with no true value – they in reality result in fleshly indulgence. ⁴ 

Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave ¹  of Christ, ²  greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured ³  in all the will of God.

But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, ¹  as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God ²  in spite of much opposition.

So ¹  when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.

However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” ¹  and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord ²  must turn away from evil.”

For though you should in fact be teachers by this time, ¹  you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God’s utterances. ²  You have gone back to needing ³  milk, not ⁴  solid food.

Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings. ¹  For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals, ²  which have never benefited those who participated in them.

And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ ¹  will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ² 

They ¹  sang the song of Moses the servant ²  of God and the song of the Lamb: ³  “Great and astounding are your deeds, Lord God, the All-Powerful! ⁴  Just ⁵  and true are your ways, King over the nations! ⁶ 

He ¹  shouted with a powerful voice: “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great! She ²  has become a lair for demons, a haunt ³  for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast. ⁴