trustees

¹⁴For it is like a man setting out on a long journey, who called his servants and delivered to them his goods. ¹⁵And to one he gave five talents, and to another two, yet to another he gave one, to each according to his own ability. And promptly, he set out. ¹⁶Then he who had received five talents went out, and he made use of these, and he gained another five. ¹⁷And similarly, he who had received two gained another two. ¹⁸But he who had received one, going out, dug into the earth, and he hid the money of his lord. ¹⁹Yet truly, after a long time, the lord of those servants returned and he settled accounts with them.

³Open your works to the Lord, and your intentions will be set in order.

¹⁰Just as each of you has received grace, minister in the same way to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

⁵Have confidence in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend upon your own prudence. ⁶In all your ways, consider him, and he himself will direct your steps.

¹⁸But instead, God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body, just as it has pleased him.

¹In those days, as the number of disciples was increasing, there occurred a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were treated with disdain in the daily ministration. ²And so the twelve, calling together the multitude of the disciples, said: “It is not fair for us to leave behind the Word of God to serve at tables also. ³Therefore, brothers, search among yourselves for seven men of good testimony, filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom, whom we may appoint over this work. ⁴Yet truly, we will be continually in prayer and in the ministry of the Word.” ⁵And the plan pleased the entire multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a new arrival from Antioch. ⁶These they set before the sight of the Apostles, and while praying, they imposed hands on them.

²For he is under tutors and caretakers, until the time which was predetermined by the father.

¹¹And may they hope in you, who know your name. For you have not abandoned those seeking you, Lord.

²The soul who will have sinned, and, despising the Lord, will have denied to his neighbor the deposit which he had entrusted to his safekeeping, or who will have extorted anything by force, or who will have made a false accusation, ³or who will have found a lost thing and then also withheld it by swearing falsely, or who will have done any other of the many things by which men usually sin: ⁴being convicted of the offense, he shall restore ⁵all that he wanted to obtain by fraud, the whole plus an additional fifth part, to the owner against whom he brought the damage. ⁶Then, on behalf of his sin, he shall offer an immaculate ram from the flock, and he shall give it to the priest, according to the estimation and measure of the offense. ⁷And he shall pray for him in the sight of the Lord, and he shall be released from any one of those things that he did when he sinned.

¹⁹And may my God fulfill all your desires, according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life.

¹⁰The thief does not come, except so that he may steal and slaughter and destroy. I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.

⁸Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God.

³My enemies have trampled over me all day long. For those who make war against me are many.

¹“Do not let your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe in me also.

¹⁴And this is the confidence which we have toward God: that no matter what we shall request, in accord with his will, he hears us.

¹³So may the God of hope fill you with every joy and with peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope and in the virtue of the Holy Spirit.

¹In those days, as the number of disciples was increasing, there occurred a murmuring of the Greeks against the Hebrews, because their widows were treated with disdain in the daily ministration. ²And so the twelve, calling together the multitude of the disciples, said: “It is not fair for us to leave behind the Word of God to serve at tables also. ³Therefore, brothers, search among yourselves for seven men of good testimony, filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom, whom we may appoint over this work. ⁴Yet truly, we will be continually in prayer and in the ministry of the Word.” ⁵And the plan pleased the entire multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a new arrival from Antioch. ⁶These they set before the sight of the Apostles, and while praying, they imposed hands on them.

⁵Reveal your way to the Lord, and hope in him, and he will accomplish it.

⁸Similarly, deacons must be chaste, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not pursuing tainted profit, ⁹holding to the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. ¹⁰And these things should be proven first, and then they may minister, being without offense. ¹¹Similarly, the women must be chaste, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. ¹²Deacons should be the husband of one wife, men who lead their own children and their own houses well. ¹³For those who have ministered well will acquire for themselves a good position, and much confidence in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.