Acts 7
7
Stephen's Speech
1The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?”
2 #
Gn 12.1. Stephen answered:
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.” 4#Gn 11.31; Gn 12.4,5. Then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.
After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. 5#Gn 12.7; 13.15; 15.18; 17.8. God didn't give him any part of it, not even a square meter. But God did promise to give it to him and his family forever, even though Abraham didn't have any children. 6#Gn 15.13-15. God said Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be mistreated 400 years. 7#Ex 3.12. But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”
8 #
Gn 17.10-14;
Gn 21.2-4;
Gn 25.26;
Gn 29.31—35.18. God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show 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. 9#Gn 37.11; Gn 37.28; Gn 39.2,3,21. These 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 10#Gn 41.39-41. and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoh thought highly of him. The king even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.
11 #
Gn 42.1,2. Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat. 12But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. 13#Gn 45.1; Gn 45.16. It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph's family.
14 #
Gn 45.9,10,17,18; Gn 46.27 (LXX). Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were 75 of them. 15#Gn 46.1-7; Gn 49.33. His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did. 16#Gn 23.3-18; 33.19; 50.7-13; Js 24.32. Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.
17 #
Ex 1.7,8. Finally, the time came for God to do what he had promised Abraham. By then the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18Another king was ruling Egypt, and he didn't know anything about Joseph. 19#Ex 1.10,11; Ex 1.22. He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them. He even made them leave their babies outside, so they would die.
20 #
Ex 2.2. During this time Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him in their home. 21#Ex 2.3-10. Then when they were forced to leave him outside, the king's daughter found him and raised him as her own son. 22Moses was given the best education in Egypt. He was a strong man and a powerful speaker.
23 #
Ex 2.11-15. When Moses was 40 years old, he wanted to help the Israelites because they were his own people. 24One day he saw an Egyptian mistreating one of them. So he rescued the man and killed the Egyptian. 25Moses thought the rest of his people would realize 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?” 29#Ex 18.2-4. When Moses heard this, he ran away to live in the country of Midian. His two sons were born there.
30 #
Ex 3.1-10. Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 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 worshiped 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, because 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.”
35 #
Ex 2.14. This 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.
36 #
Ex 7.3,4;
Ex 14.21;
Nu 14.33. In 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 b.c. 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 working miracles and wonders for 40 years. 37#Dt 18.15,18. Moses 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.” 38#Ex 19.1—20.17; Dt 5.1-33. Moses 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. 39But our ancestors refused to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.
40 #
Ex 32.1. The 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.” 41#Ex 32.2-6. Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf. They offered sacrifices to the idol and were pleased with what they had done.
42 # Am 5.25-27 (LXX). God turned his back on his people and left them. Then they worshiped 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 40 years in the desert. 43Instead, you carried the tent where the god Molech is worshiped, and you took along the star of your god Rephan. You made those idols and worshiped them. So now I will have you carried off beyond Babylonia.”
44 #
Ex 25.9,40. The tent where our ancestors worshiped 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. 45#Js 3.14-17. Later 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. 46#2 S 7.1-16; 1 Ch 17.1-14. He pleased God and asked him if he could build a house of worship for the people#7.46 people: Some manuscripts have “God.” of Israel. 47#1 K 6.1-38; 2 Ch 3.1-17. And it was finally King Solomon who built a house for God.#7.47 God: Or “the people.”
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 #
Is 66.1,2. “Heaven is my throne,
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.”
51 #
Is 63.10. You stubborn and hardheaded people! You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did. 52Is there one prophet that your ancestors didn't mistreat? 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. 55#3 Macc 6.6. But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward 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 honor 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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Acts 7: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Acts 7
7
Stephen Speaks in His Own Defense
1Then the chief priest asked Stephen, “Is this true?”
2Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God who reveals his glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia. This happened before Abraham lived in Haran. 3God told him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.’
4“Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live.
5“Yet, God didn’t give Abraham anything in this land to call his own, not even a place to rest his feet. But God promised to give this land to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham didn’t have a child. 6God told Abraham that his descendants would be foreigners living in another country and that the people there would make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7God also told him, ‘I will punish the people whom they will serve. After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’
8“God gave Abraham circumcision to confirm his promise.#7:8 Or “covenant.” So when Abraham’s son Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same to his twelve sons (the ancestors of our tribes).
9“Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. But God was with Joseph 10and rescued him from all his suffering. When Joseph stood in the presence of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt), God gave Joseph divine favor #7:10 Or “grace.” and wisdom so that he became ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s whole palace. 11Then a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan brought a lot of suffering. Our ancestors couldn’t find any food. 12When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent our ancestors there. That was their first trip. 13On the second trip, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his relatives, 75 people in all. 15So Jacob went to Egypt, and he and our ancestors died there. 16They were taken to Shechem for burial in the tomb that Abraham purchased in Shechem from Hamor’s sons.
17“When the time that God had promised to Abraham had almost come, the number of our people in Egypt had grown very large. 18Then a different king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. 19This king was shrewd in the way he took advantage of our people. He mistreated our ancestors. He made them abandon their newborn babies outdoors, where they would die.
20“At that time Moses was born, and he was a very beautiful child. His parents took care of him for three months. 21When Moses was abandoned outdoors, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her son. 22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man in what he said and did. 23When he was 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24When he saw an Israelite man being treated unfairly by an Egyptian, he defended the Israelite. He took revenge by killing the Egyptian. 25Moses thought his own people would understand that God was going to use him to give them freedom. But they didn’t understand. 26The next day Moses saw two Israelites fighting, and he tried to make peace between them. He said to them, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you treating each other unfairly?’
27“But one of the men pushed Moses aside. He asked Moses, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29After he said that, Moses quickly left Egypt and lived in Midian as a foreigner. In Midian he fathered two sons.
30“Forty years later, a Messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert of Mount Sinai. 31Moses was surprised when he saw this. As he went closer to look at the bush, the voice of the Lord said to him, 32‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and didn’t dare to look at the bush. 33The Lord told him, ‘Take off your sandals. The place where you’re standing is holy ground. 34I’ve seen how my people are mistreated in Egypt. I’ve heard their groaning and have come to rescue them. So now I’m sending you to Egypt.’
35“This is the Moses whom the Israelites rejected by saying, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge?’ This is the one God sent to free them and to rule them with the help of the Messenger who appeared to him in the bush. 36This is the man who led our ancestors out of Egypt. He is the person who did amazing things and worked miracles in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the desert for 40 years. 37This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me.’ 38This is the Moses who was in the assembly in the desert. Our ancestors and the Messenger who spoke to him on Mount Sinai were there with him. Moses received life-giving messages to give to us, 39but our ancestors were not willing to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, ‘We don’t know what has happened to this Moses, who led us out of Egypt. So make gods who will lead us.’ 41That was the time they made a calf. They offered a sacrifice to that false god and delighted in what they had made.
42“So God turned away from them and let them worship the sun, moon, and stars. This is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings in the desert for 40 years, nation of Israel? 43You carried along the shrine of Moloch, the star of the god Rephan, and the statues you made for yourselves to worship. I will send you into exile beyond the city of Babylon.’
44“In the desert our ancestors had the tent of God’s promise. Moses built this tent exactly as God had told him. He used the model he had seen. 45After our ancestors received the tent, they brought it into this land. They did this with Joshua’s help when they took possession of the land from the nations that God forced out of our ancestors’ way. This tent remained here until the time of David, 46who won God’s favor. David asked that he might provide a permanent place for the family of Jacob.#7:46 Some manuscripts and translations read “God of Jacob.” 47But Solomon was the one who built a house for God.
48“However, the Most High doesn’t live in a house built by humans, as the prophet says:
49‘The Lord says,
“Heaven is my throne.
The earth is my footstool.
What kind of house are you going to build for me?
Where will I rest?
50Didn’t I make all these things?” ’
51“How stubborn can you be? How can you be so heartless and disobedient? You’re just like your ancestors. They always opposed the Holy Spirit, and so do you! 52Was there ever a prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute? They killed those who predicted that a man with God’s approval would come. You have now become the people who betrayed and murdered that man. 53You are the people who received Moses’ Teachings, which were put into effect by angels. But you haven’t obeyed those teachings.”
Stephen Is Executed
54As council members listened to Stephen, they became noticeably furious. 55But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked into heaven, saw God’s glory, and Jesus in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. 56So Stephen said, “Look, I see heaven opened and the Son of Man in the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the throne!”
57But the council members shouted and refused to listen. Then they rushed at Stephen with one purpose in mind, 58and after they had thrown him out of the city, they began to stone him to death. The witnesses left their coats with a young man named Saul.
59While council members were executing Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, welcome my spirit.” 60Then he knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them.” After he had said this, he died.
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