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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

Context of Acts 6:10

8Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.

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 from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
• Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
• Exodus 4:12Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
• Isaiah 54:17no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 1:18Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.
• Jeremiah 15:20I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you,” declares the Lord.
• Ezekiel 3:27But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.
• Matthew 10:19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say,
• Luke 12:11“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,
• Luke 21:15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
• John 7:46“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.
• Job 32:8But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
• Micah 3:8But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.
• Luke 1:17And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
• 1 Corinthians 2:4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s 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