6:9a

But resistance arose: The Greek is more literally “And/but (they) stood/arose.” The following verses show that they stood/arose to oppose Stephen. The ending on the Greek verb indicates that “they” refers to members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen. They are introduced after this verb. For example:

Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen. (Revised Standard Version)

what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen: The Greek is more literally “some of the ones from the synagogue, the-one being-called of-Freedmen.” Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
some men from the synagogue which is called the Synagogue of Freedmen

The words “the-one being-called” are used to introduce a Latin word in this Greek sentence. Many translations will translate the meaning of the Latin word, so do not need to introduce a new name in that way. For example:

members of the Synagogue of Freedmen

what was called: The Greek is passive: “being called.” It implies that everyone called this synagogue “the Synagogue of Freedmen.” Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

⌊what people⌋ called

Some languages will not need to translate this clause. See the second note on 6:9a above.

the Synagogue of the Freedmen: These Jews were probably once slaves of the Romans but after a while the Romans freed them, so they used the label Freedmen. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the Synagogue of Freed Slaves (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the Synagogue of Slaves Who Had Been Set Free

The Greek does not have the word that means “the” before Freedmen here. Freedmen started this synagogue (or it was started for them), but the name does not imply that all Jewish freedmen went to it or that Jewish freedmen could only go to this synagogue. For example:

Synagogue of Freedmen (New American Bible, Revised Edition)

Synagogue: Here the word Synagogue refers to a group of Jews who gather to pray, read scripture, teach, and worship. They also gathered for cultural activities. Here are some other ways to translate this word here:

group of Jews
-or-
a Jewish gathering/group

6:9a–b

the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia: There are a number of ways to interpret how these names connect to each other. Here are the three main interpretations:

(1) It refers to only one group, Freedmen, from those four locations. For example:

Freedmen, comprising Cyrenians and Alexandrians and people from Cilicia and Asia (Revised English Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, New Century Version)

(2) It refers to two groups, first, Freedmen who were from Cyrene and Alexandria, and second, Jews from Cilicia and (the Roman province of) Asia. For example:

Freedmen…, which had Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. They and other Jews from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia (Good News Translation)

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition)

(3) It refers to four groups, the Freedmen, then Jews from Cyrene, then Jews from Alexandria, then Jews from Cilicia and (the Roman province of) Asia. For example:

Freedmen…, and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia (Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, King James Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) because the Greek word for synagogue is singular and Freedmen names a different kind of thing than the other names.

6:9c

began to argue: The Greek indicates that at this time these men were arguing with Stephen. For example:

were arguing

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