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

8God helped Stephen in many special ways. God's power was with him. He did many miracles among the people which showed that God was with him. 9But some men spoke against Stephen. They did not agree with what he taught people. These men were from one of the Jewish meeting places in Jerusalem. People called them, ‘The Group of Free Men’. These men were Jews from the cities called Cyrene and Alexandria. Some of them were from towns in Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen. But the Holy Spirit helped Stephen to be very wise when he spoke. So these men could not say that he was wrong. 11Then those men secretly gave money to some bad men. They told them to say to the Jewish leaders, ‘We heard this man, Stephen, say bad things against Moses and against God.’ 12This made the people become angry against Stephen. The important Jews and the teachers of God's Law also became very angry. So they took hold of Stephen. They took him to stand in front of the group of Jewish leaders.

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 perhaps what they are doing really does come from God himself. If that is true, then you cannot stop them. You might even find that you are fighting against God!’
• Acts 7:51Then Stephen said, ‘You people do not want to obey God! You do not want to listen to God's true message. You are the same as your ancestors. Like them, you always fight against what the Holy Spirit says.
• Exodus 4:12Now go! I will help you to speak well. I will teach you what you must say.’
• Isaiah 54:17But nobody can make a weapon that will beat you, when your enemies attack you. If people accuse you of bad things, you will show that they are wrong. That is what the Lord will do as a gift for his servants. Yes, I will show that they are right.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Jeremiah 1:18I, the Lord, promise that I will make you as strong as a city with strong walls around it. You will be as strong as an iron pillar, or a wall that is made of bronze. You will speak a message against the whole nation of Judah. You will speak against its kings, its officers, its priests and all its people.
• Jeremiah 15:20When these people attack you, I will make you like a strong wall. You will be like a wall that is made of bronze. The people will not be able to knock you down. I will be with you to protect you. I will keep you safe.’ That is what the Lord says.
• Ezekiel 3:27But sometimes I will speak to you. Then you will be able to open your mouth and give them my message. You must tell them, “This is what the Almighty Lord says.” Some of them will listen to my message. But other people will refuse to listen. They are a nation of people who refuse to obey me.’
• Matthew 10:19When they take you to stand in front of their leaders, do not be afraid. Do not worry about what you should say or how you should say it. At that time, God will give you the right words to speak.
• Luke 12:11People will take you into their meeting places. They will make you stand in front of rulers and other people that have authority. They will want to show that you have done bad things. But do not be afraid of them. Do not worry about what you should say.
• Luke 21:15I will give you the right words to speak at that time. I will help you to be wise. The people who are against you will not be able to argue with you. They will just be quiet.
• John 7:46The officers answered, ‘Nobody has ever spoken great things like this man speaks.’
• Job 32:8But it is a person's spirit that helps them to understand things. Almighty God has to put his breath into them.
• Micah 3:8But the Spirit of the Lord fills me, to make me powerful. He helps me to know what is right and fair. He makes me brave so that I can speak to you, Jacob's people. I can tell you what you have done wrong. You are Israel's people, but you have not obeyed God.
• Luke 1:17John will prepare the people for the Lord to come to them. The Holy Spirit will lead John as he led Elijah. John will do powerful things as Elijah did. He will help fathers to love their children. He will teach people who do not obey God. Then they will know what things are right. And they will do them. Then they will be ready when the Lord comes.’
• 1 Corinthians 2:4When I spoke to you and when I taught you God's message, I did not use clever words. I did not want you to believe me because you thought I was wise. Instead, it was the power of God's Holy Spirit that showed you that my message was true.

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