Acts 6:10

Acts 6:10 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
• New International Version (NIV)But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

Context of Acts 6:10

8Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing, favor) and power, was doing great wonders and signs (attesting miracles) among the people. 9However, some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (freed Jewish slaves), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and [the province of] Asia, rose up and questioned and argued with Stephen. But they were not able to successfully withstand and cope with the wisdom and the intelligence [and the power and inspiration] of the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11Then [to attack him another way] they secretly instructed men to say, “We have heard this man [Stephen] speak blasphemous (slanderous, sacrilegious, abusive) words against Moses and against God.” 12And they provoked and incited the people, as well as the elders and the scribes, and they came up to Stephen and seized him and brought him before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court).

Acts 6:10 word by word

καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυον ἀντιστῆναι τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ τῷ πνεύματι ᾧ ἐλάλει.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Andκαίkai · andG2532
• they wereἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480
• notοὐou · noG3756
• to resistἀνθίστημιanthistēmi · to opposeG436
• the wisdomὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• the spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• by whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• he spakeλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980

Cross-references for Acts 6:10

• Acts 5:39but if it is of God [and it appears that it is], you will not be able to stop them; or else you may even be found fighting against God!”
• Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked and stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did.
• Exodus 4:12Now then go, and I, even I, will be with your mouth, and will teach you what you shall say.”
• Isaiah 54:17No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 1:18Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like an iron pillar and like bronze walls against the whole land—against the [successive] kings of Judah, against its leaders, against its priests, and against the people of the land [giving you divine strength which no hostile power can overcome].
• Jeremiah 15:20And I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; They will fight against you, But they will not prevail over you, For I am with you [always] to save you And protect you,” says the Lord.
• Ezekiel 3:27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses [to hear], let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
• Matthew 10:19But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you within that [very] hour;
• Luke 12:11When they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be worried about how you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say;
• Luke 21:15for I will give you [skillful] words and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
• John 7:46The guards replied, “Never [at any time] has a man talked the way this Man talks!”
• Job 32:8But there is [a vital force and] a spirit [of intelligence] in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
• Micah 3:8But in fact, I am filled with power, With the Spirit of the Lord, And with justice and might, To declare to Jacob his transgression And to Israel his sin.
• Luke 1:17It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous [which is to seek and submit to the will of God]—in order to make ready a people [perfectly] prepared [spiritually and morally] for the Lord.”
• 1 Corinthians 2:4And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom [using clever rhetoric], but [they were delivered] in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit [operating through me] and of [His] power [stirring the minds of the listeners and persuading them],

Commentaries on Acts 6:10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10They there not able to resist the wisdom, etc. - He was wise, well exercised and experienced, in Divine things; and, as appears by his defense, in the following chapter, well versed in the Jewish history. The spirit by which he spake was the Holy Spirit, and its power was irresistible. They were obliged either to yield to its teachings, or were confounded by its truth. Several MSS. add to this verse, because he reproved them with boldness, they could not…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10To resist - That is, they were not able to “answer” his arguments. The wisdom - This properly refers to his knowledge of the Scriptures; his skill in what “the Jews” esteemed to be wisdom - acquaintance with their sacred writings, opinions, etc. And the spirit - This has been commonly understood of the Holy Spirit, by which he was aided; but it rather means the “energy, power,” or “ardor” of Stephen. He “evinced” a spirit of zeal and sincerity which they…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-15Verses 8-15 When they could not answer Stephen's arguments as a disputant, they prosecuted him as a criminal, and brought false witnesses against him. And it is next to a miracle of providence, that no greater number of religious persons have been murdered in the world, by the way of perjury and pretence of law, when so many thousands hate them, who make no conscience of false oaths. Wisdom and holiness make a man's face to shine, yet will not secure men…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-15The Jewish leaders did to Stephen as they had done to Jesus (compare Matthew 26:3–4, 59–66): They found someone to lie about him, they accused him of blasphemy (saying offensive things about God), they started a riot, they arrested him, and they made false charges against him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 9-109-10. synagogue of the Libertines--Jewish freedmen; manumitted Roman captives, or the children of such, expelled from Rome (as appears from Josephus and Tacitus), and now residing at Jerusalem. Cyrenians--Jews of Cyrene, in Libya, on the coast of Africa. them of Cilicia--amongst whom may have been Saul of Tarsus (Ac 7:58; 21:39). and of Asia--(See on Ac 16:6).Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 6:10

• Government
• Greece
• Intolerance, Religious
• Jerusalem
• Persecution
• Power
• Stephen
• Wisdom
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Catch
• Deacon
• Honest
• Ministration
• Stephen
• Acts of the Apostles
• Church Government
• Deacon; Deaconess
• Ministry
• Papyrus

Commentaries on Acts 6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings