Acts 7
7
1And the high priest said, “Is this so?” 2#Ps 29.3; Gen 11.31; 15.7. And Stephen said:
“Brethren and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3#Gen 12.1. and said to him, ‘Depart from your land and from your kindred and go into the land which I will show you.’ 4#Gen 11.31; 15.7; 12.5. Then he departed from the land of the Chaldeans, and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living; 5#Deut 2.5; Gen 12.7; 17.8. yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him in possession and to his posterity after him, though he had no child. 6#Gen 15.13-14. And God spoke to this effect, that his posterity would be aliens in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and ill-treat them four hundred years. 7#Ex 3.12. ‘But I will judge the nation which they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ 8#Gen 17.10-14; 21.2-4; 25.26; 29.31-35; 30.1-24; 35.16-18; 35.23-26. And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9 #
Gen 37.11,28; 45.4. #Gen 39.2-3,21. “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him, 10#Gen 41.40-46; Ps 105.21. and rescued him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him governor over Egypt and over all his household. 11#Gen 41.54-55; 42.5. Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12#Gen 42.2. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the first time. 13#Gen 45.1-4. And at the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14#Gen 45.9-10. #Deut 10.22. And Joseph sent and called to him Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five souls; 15and Jacob went down into Egypt. And he died, himself and our fathers, 16#Josh 24.32; Gen 50.13. and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 #
Ex 1.7-8. “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 18till there arose over Egypt another king who had not known Joseph. 19#Ex 1.10-11; 1.15-22. He dealt craftily with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, that they might not be kept alive. 20#Ex 2.2. At this time Moses was born, and was beautiful before God. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house; 21#Ex 2.5-6,10. and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
23 #
Ex 2.11-15. “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. 24And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking the Egyptian. 25He supposed that his brethren understood that God was giving them deliverance by his hand, but they did not understand. 26And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and would have reconciled them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you wrong each other?’ 27But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29#Ex 2.22; 18.3-4. At this retort Moses fled, and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 #
Ex 3.1-10. “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31When Moses saw it he wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to look, the voice of the Lord came, 32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33And the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34I have surely seen the ill-treatment of my people that are in Egypt and heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
35 #
Ex 2.14. “This Moses whom they refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ God sent as both ruler and deliverer by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. 36#Ex 7.3; 14.21; Num 14.33. He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37#Deut 18.15,18. This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up.’ 38#Ex 19. This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he received living oracles to give to us. 39#Num 14.3-4. Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40#Ex 32.1,23. saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41#Ex 32.4,6. And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and rejoiced in the works of their hands. 42#Jer 19.13. #Amos 5.25-27. But God turned and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
‘Did you offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43And you took up the tent of Moloch,
and the star of the god Rephan,
the figures which you made to worship;
and I will remove you beyond Babylon.’
44 #
Ex 25.9,40. “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, even as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45#Josh 3.14-17; Deut 32.49. Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations which God thrust out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46#2 Sam 7.8-16; Ps 132.1-5. who found favor in the sight of God and asked leave to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. 47#1 Kings 6. But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands; as the prophet says,
49 #
Is 66.1-2. ‘Heaven is my throne,
and earth my footstool.
What house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 #
Ex 33.3,5; Jer 9.26; 6.10; Num 27.14; Is 63.10. “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
54Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth against him. 55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.” 57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. 58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
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Acts 7: RSV
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Acts 7
7
Stephen's speech
1The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?”
2Stephen answered:#Gn 12.1.
Friends, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he had moved to Haran. 3God told him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to a land that I will show you.” 4Then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.#Gn 11.31; Gn 12.4.
After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. 5God didn't give him any part of it, not even a square metre. But God did promise to give it to him and his family for ever, even though Abraham didn't have any children.#Gn 12.7; 13.15; 15.18; 17.8. 6God said that Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be ill-treated four hundred years.#Gn 15.13,14. 7But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”#Ex 3.12.
8God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show that you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons.#Gn 17.10-14; Gn 21.2-4; Gn 25.26; Gn 29.31—35.18. 9These men were our ancestors.
Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with him#Gn 37.11; Gn 37.28; Gn 39.2,21. 10and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoh#7.10 Pharaoh: A Hebrew word sometimes used for the title of the King of Egypt. thought highly of him. Pharaoh even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.#Gn 41.39-41.
11Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat.#Gn 42.1,2. 12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. 13It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learnt about Joseph's family.#Gn 45.1; Gn 45.16.
14Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were seventy-five of them.#Gn 45.9,10,17,18; Gn 46.27 (LXX). 15His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did.#Gn 46.1-7; Gn 49.33. 16Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.#Gn 23.3-16; 33.19; 50.7-13; Js 24.32.
Stephen continued:
17Finally, the time came for God to do what he had promised Abraham. By then the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.#Ex 1.7,8. 18Another king was ruling Egypt, and he didn't know anything about Joseph. 19He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them. He even made them leave their babies outside, so they would die.#Ex 1.10,11; Ex 1.22.
20During this time Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him in their home.#Ex 2.2. 21Then when they were forced to leave him outside, the king's daughter found him and raised him as her own son.#Ex 2.3-10. 22Moses was given the best education in Egypt. He was a strong man and a powerful speaker.
23When Moses was forty years old, he wanted to help the Israelites because they were his own people.#Ex 2.11-15. 24One day he saw an Egyptian ill-treating one of them. So he rescued the man and killed the Egyptian. 25Moses thought the rest of his people would realize that God was going to use him to set them free. But they didn't understand.
26The next day Moses saw two of his own people fighting, and he tried to make them stop. He said, “Men, you are both Israelites. Why are you so cruel to each other?”
27But the man who had started the fight pushed Moses aside and asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? 28Are you going to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” 29When Moses heard this, he ran away to live in the country of Midian. His two sons were born there.#Ex 18.3,4.
Stephen continued:
30Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.#Ex 3.1-10. 31Moses was surprised by what he saw. He went closer to get a better look, and the Lord said, 32“I am the God who was worshipped by your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses started shaking all over and didn't dare to look at the bush.
33The Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals. The place where you are standing is holy. 34With my own eyes I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now I am sending you back to Egypt.”
35This was the same Moses that the people rejected by saying, “Who made you our leader and judge?” God's angel had spoken to Moses from the bush. And God had even sent the angel to help Moses rescue the people and be their leader.#Ex 2.14.
36In Egypt and at the Red Sea#7.36 Red Sea: This name comes from the Bible of the early Christians, a translation made into Greek about 200 BC. It refers to the body of water that the Israelites crossed and was one of the marshes or fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta, where they lived and where the towns of Exodus 13.17—14.9 were located. and in the desert, Moses rescued the people by performing miracles and wonders for forty years.#Ex 7.3; Ex 14.21; Nu 14.33. 37Moses is the one who told the people of Israel, “God will choose one of your people to be a prophet, just as he chose me.”#Dt 18.15,18. 38Moses brought our people together in the desert, and the angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. There he was given these life-giving words to pass on to us.#Ex 19.1—20.17; Dt 5.1-33. 39But our ancestors refused to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.
40The people said to Aaron, “Make some gods to lead us! Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what's happened to him now.”#Ex 32.1. 41Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf. They offered sacrifices to the idol and were pleased with what they had done.#Ex 32.2-6.
42God turned his back on his people and left them. Then they worshipped the stars in the sky, just as it says in the Book of the Prophets, “People of Israel, you didn't offer sacrifices and offerings to me during those forty years in the desert.#Am 5.25-27 (LXX). 43Instead, you carried the tent where the god Molech is worshipped, and you took along the star of your god Rephan. You made those idols and worshipped them. So now I will have you carried off beyond Babylonia.”
Stephen continued:
44The tent where our ancestors worshipped God was with them in the desert. This was the same tent that God had commanded Moses to make. And it was made like the model that Moses had seen.#Ex 25.9,40. 45Later it was given to our ancestors, and they took it with them when they went with Joshua. They carried the tent along as they took over the land from those people that God had chased out for them. Our ancestors used this tent until the time of King David.#Js 3.14-17. 46He pleased God and asked him if he could build a house of worship for the people#7.46 the people: Some manuscripts have “God”. of Israel.#2 S 7.1-16; 1 Ch 17.1-14. 47And it was finally King Solomon who built a house for God.#7.47 God: Or “the people”.#1 K 6.1-38; 2 Ch 3.1-17.
48But the Most High God doesn't live in houses made by humans. It is just as the prophet said, when he spoke for the Lord,
49“Heaven is my throne,#Is 66.1,2.
and the earth
is my footstool.
What kind of house
will you build for me?
In what place will I rest?
50I have made everything.”
51You stubborn and hard-headed people! You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did.#Is 63.10. 52Is there one prophet that your ancestors didn't ill-treat? They killed the prophets who told about the coming of the One Who Obeys God.#7.52 One Who Obeys God: That is, Jesus. And now you have turned against him and killed him. 53Angels gave you God's Law, but you still don't obey it.
Stephen is stoned to death
54When the council members heard Stephen's speech, they were angry and furious. 55But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked towards heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side.#7.55 standing at his right side: The “right side” is the place of honour and power. “Standing” may mean that Jesus is welcoming Stephen (see verse 59). 56Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!”
57The council members shouted and covered their ears. At once they all attacked Stephen 58and dragged him out of the city. Then they started throwing stones at him. The men who had brought charges against him put their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.#7.58 Saul: Better known as Paul, who became a famous follower of Jesus.
59As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” 60He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don't blame them for what they have done.” Then he died.
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