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

8And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. 9But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and some from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and argued with Stephen. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12And they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, and they came up to him and dragged him away and brought him before the Council.

Acts 6:10 word by word

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

• But they were unableοὐou · noG3756
• But they were unableἰσχύωischuō · be strongG2480
• to copeἀνθίστημιanthistēmi · to opposeG436
• with the wisdomσοφίαsophia · wisdomG4678
• and the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• with whichὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• he was speakingλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980

Cross-references for Acts 6:10

• Acts 5:39but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God.”
• Acts 7:51“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always 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 teach you what you are to say.”
• Isaiah 54:17No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 1:18Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land.
• Jeremiah 15:20Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” declares the Lord.
• Ezekiel 3:27But when I speak to 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, 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 it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.
• Luke 12:11When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say;
• Luke 21:15for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.
• John 7:46The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
• Job 32:8But it is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
• Micah 3:8On the other hand I am filled with power-- With the Spirit of the Lord-- And with justice and courage To make known to Jacob his rebellious act, Even 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, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
• 1 Corinthians 2:4and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

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