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Stephen speaks to the Jewish leaders

7 The most important priest said to Stephen, ‘These men are saying things against you. Are these things true?’

2 Stephen said, ‘Men of Israel, my friends and leaders. Listen to what I say. Our great God appeared to our ancestor, Abraham, when he was still living in Mesopotamia. This happened before he went to Haran. 3 God said to Abraham, “Leave your own country and your own family and go to a different country. I will show you where that will be.” [ a ]

4 So Abraham left his country where the Chaldean people lived. He went to Haran and he stayed there. While he was there, his father died. Then God said to him, “Leave this place.” God then sent him to live in Canaan. This is where we are living now. [ b ]

5 At that time, God did not give Abraham any part of Canaan for his own family. He did not give Abraham even a very small piece of ground. But God made a promise to Abraham. He said, “This land will become your own country. It will also be your descendants' country.” When God said this to him, Abraham did not yet have any children. 6 This is what God said to him: “Your descendants will live in a foreign country for 400 years. The people in that country will cause your descendants to be their slaves. They will be very cruel to them. 7 But I will punish those people who cause your descendants to work as slaves for them. After I have done that, your descendants will leave that country. They will come to this place and worship me here.” That is what God said to Abraham. [ c ]

8 Then God made an covenant with Abraham that his descendants would be his special people. God said, “You must circumcise all your baby boys.”

Later, Abraham became the father of Isaac. Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was eight days old. Then Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob himself had 12 sons. These sons became the 12 ancestors of the families of Israel. [ d ]

9 One of Jacob's sons was called Joseph. Jacob was more kind to Joseph than to his other sons. For this reason, Joseph's brothers did not like him. So one day they took Joseph and they sold him as a slave. The men that bought Joseph took him to Egypt. There he became the slave of an important man. All this time, God took care of Joseph. 10 God saved him from all his troubles and he helped him to live in a wise way. Because of that, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, liked Joseph. He saw that Joseph was very wise. So Pharaoh gave Joseph authority to rule Egypt and everyone in the king's own house.

11 Then there was a famine everywhere in Egypt and in Canaan. Everyone was very hungry and they suffered a lot. Our ancestors also had no food to eat. 12 Jacob heard news that Pharaoh had stored a lot of wheat in Egypt. So he sent his sons there to buy food from Pharaoh. This was the first time that they went to Egypt.

13 Later, Jacob sent his sons back to Egypt for a second time. This time, Joseph told his brothers who he really was. As a result, Pharaoh came to know about Joseph's family. 14 After this, Joseph sent a message to his father, that he should also come to Egypt with his whole family. At that time, there were 75 people in Jacob's family.

15 So Jacob went to Egypt with all his family. Jacob and his 12 sons, our ancestors, lived there until they died. [ e ]

16 When the people of Israel left Egypt, they carried with them the dead bodies of Joseph and his family. They took them back to Shechem and they buried them in a hole for dead people there. Abraham had bought that ground in Shechem from the family of a man called Hamor. He had paid Hamor the right money for it.’ [ f ]

17 Stephen then said, ‘After many years, the time arrived for God to make his promise to Abraham become true. By this time, Jacob's family who still lived in Egypt had become very many. 18 Now, a different king ruled Egypt. This new king did not know anything about Joseph and what he had done. 19 He was very cruel to our ancestors and he caused them to suffer. When new babies were born, he said that our people must put them out of their homes. He said that because he wanted the babies to die.

20 It was at this time that Moses was born. He was a very beautiful baby. His parents took care of him for three months in their own home. 21 Then they had to put him outside. But Pharaoh's daughter found him and she took him to her home. She took care of him as if he was her own son. [ g ] 22 Moses had teachers who taught him all the wise things that the Egyptians knew. He learned how to speak well. He could also do powerful things.

23 When Moses was 40 years old, he went to see his own people, the people of Israel. 24 He saw that an Egyptian man was being cruel to one of the Israelite men. So he went to help the Israelite man. He killed the Egyptian man to punish him. 25 Moses thought that his own people would understand him. They would know that God was using him to save them. They would no longer be slaves to work for the Egyptians. But his people did not understand all this. 26 On the next day, Moses saw two Israelite men. They were fighting each other. He tried to make them become friends. He said to them, “Listen to me, men. You are both in the family of Israel. You should not hurt each other.”

27 The man who was being cruel to the other man pushed Moses away. He said to Moses, “You have no authority to rule us. You are not our judge. 28 I know that yesterday you killed an Egyptian man. So do you want to kill me too?”

29 When Moses heard this, he decided to run away. He went to the land of Midian and he lived there. He married a wife and they had two sons.

30 Moses lived in Midian for 40 years. Then, one day, he was in the wilderness near Sinai mountain. He saw a bush there that was burning. An angel appeared to him in the fire. 31 Moses was very surprised by what he saw. He went near to the bush so that he could see it better. Then he heard the Lord God speak to him from the bush. 32 God said, “I am the God of your ancestors. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Moses was very frightened. He was too afraid to look at the bush any more.

33 Then the Lord God said to Moses, “Remove your shoes from your feet, because you are standing in a very special place. This is my own place. 34 I have seen that the Egyptians are being cruel to my people. My people are crying with pain and I have heard them. Now I have come down to save them. So come here and listen to me. I will send you back to Egypt.” ’ [ h ]

35 Then Stephen said, ‘Moses is the man that the people of Israel would not accept. They had said to him, “You have no authority to rule us. You are not our judge.” But God did send Moses to rule them. God himself sent Moses to save them from the Egyptians. God spoke to Moses through the angel that appeared to him in the bush. 36 So it was Moses who led the people of Israel out of Egypt. He did some powerful things before the people left Egypt. This showed that God was with him. He did more miracles at the Red Sea. Then he led the people through the wilderness for 40 years. He also did more miracles there. [ i ]

37 It was Moses who said to the people of Israel, “God will send you a prophet. He will be one of your own people. He will speak God's message as I have done.” 38 This is the same Moses who was leader of our people in the wilderness. He was there with our ancestors when the angel spoke to him on Sinai mountain. He received the message from God to give to us. Those words from God bring life to us.

39 But our ancestors would not obey Moses. They did not accept him as their leader. They wanted to go back to Egypt. 40 So the people said to Aaron, “Please make us some gods that we can carry in front of us. Yes, that man Moses brought us out of Egypt. But now we do not know what has happened to him.” [ j ]

41 It was then that the people made something that would be an idol for them. They made it from gold with the shape of a young bull. They killed some animals and they burned them as a gift for their idol. The people then had a big meal together because they were very happy. They thought that they had made something that was very good. [ k ]

42 But God turned away from his people. He let them do what they wanted to do. He let them worship the stars in the sky.

One of God's prophets wrote about this long ago:

“God said, ‘People of Israel, listen!
When you were in the wilderness for 40 years,
you brought sacrifices and gifts to me.
But you did not really worship me when you did that.
43 No. You carried with you the idol of the god called Molech.
You also carried an idol with the shape of a star,
to be like your god, Rephan.
These were the idols which you worshipped in the wilderness.
So now I will send you away from your own country.
You will go to live in places beyond Babylon.’ ” [ l ]

44 When our ancestors were in the wilderness, they carried a special tent with them. [ m ] It showed that God was there with them and that is where they worshipped him. God showed Moses how he should make that tent. The people made it in the way that God had said.

45 Later, our ancestors received that special tent for themselves. They brought it with them when they came with Joshua to live in this land. They took the land from the people who were living here. God chased out those people so that our ancestors could live there. The tent remained in this place until David became the king of Israel. [ n ]

46 God was happy with King David and he helped him very much. So David said to God, “May I build a special house where you can live among your people, the descendants of Jacob?” 47 But it was David's son, Solomon, who built a house for God. [ o ]

48 But we know that God does not live in a house that people have made. He is the powerful God who is over all. God's prophet Isaiah spoke these words: [ p ]

49 The Lord God says,

“Heaven is the seat where I sit to rule.
The earth is the place where I put my feet.
You could not build a house for me where I could live.
You could not make a place for me to rest there.
50 I am the one who has made all these things myself.” ’

51 Then Stephen said, ‘You people do not want to obey God! You do not want to listen to God's true message. You are the same as your ancestors. Like them, you always fight against what the Holy Spirit says. 52 Your ancestors did bad things to every prophet that God sent to them. They even killed the prophets who told them about the Righteous Man that God would send. Now you have given that Man to his enemies. You have made them kill him. 53 You are the people who received God's Law. God caused his angels to give that Law to your ancestors. But you have not obeyed it.’

The Jewish leaders kill Stephen

54 The group of Jewish leaders listened to Stephen. What he said made them very angry. They bit their teeth together because they were so angry. 55 But the Holy Spirit filled Stephen. He looked up to heaven and he saw the bright light of God's glory. He also saw Jesus, who was standing at the right side of God. 56 Stephen said, ‘Look! I can see into heaven itself. It is open! I can see the Son of Man and he is standing at the right side of God!’ [ q ]

57 When the Jewish leaders heard this, they put their hands over their ears. Then they shouted very loudly at Stephen and they all ran towards him. 58 They took hold of Stephen and they pulled him out of the city. They removed their coats. They gave them to a young man to keep them safe. This young man was called Saul. Then they began to throw stones at Stephen to kill him.

59 While the men were throwing stones at him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, please receive my spirit as I die.’ 60 Then he fell down on his knees. He shouted, ‘Lord, please forgive these men. Do not punish them because they are doing this to me.’ After Stephen had said this, he died.

Footnotes

  1. 7:3 Abraham lived with his father in a city called Ur. Ur was in a country called Babylonia, which is now part of Iraq. Abraham moved with his father from Ur to live in Haran.
  2. 7:4 The land that God led Abraham to was called Canaan. This country is now called Israel. Jerusalem is the capital city.
  3. 7:7 We can read about God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 . Abraham's descendants worked in Egypt for 400 years. Then Moses led them out of that country to the country which became Israel. Moses was standing on Sinai mountain when God spoke to him. We can read about this in Exodus 3 .
  4. 7:8 Jacob is also sometimes called Israel. We can read the names of Jacob's 12 sons in Genesis 35:23-26 .
  5. 7:15 The kings of the country of Egypt were always called Pharaoh. We can read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37—50 .
  6. 7:16 Shechem was the place in Canaan where Jacob and his family had lived. Jacob and Joseph knew that one day their families would return to Shechem. So Jacob asked his family to take his dead body back to Shechem. We can read about this in Genesis 49:29-33 . Much later, Joseph also asked his family to take his dead body back to Shechem. We can read about this in Genesis 50:25 and Joshua 24:32 .
  7. 7:21 We can read this story about Moses in Exodus 2:1-10 .
  8. 7:34 We can read this story about Moses in Exodus 3 .
  9. 7:36 We can read about this in Exodus 7—17 .
  10. 7:40 Aaron was the brother of Moses.
  11. 7:41 We can read about this in Exodus 32:1-6 .
  12. 7:43 We can read this in Amos 5:25-27 . Amos was speaking a message from God.
  13. 7:44 A tent is a house that someone made from cloth or animal skins. When people travel, they can carry it from one place to the next place. God told Moses how to make this special tent. It was called the tabernacle.
  14. 7:45 Many other people were already living in Canaan. But God had promised to give Canaan to the people of Israel. Joshua helped the people of Israel to fight the other people in Canaan. And God helped the people of Israel to win their battles. So the people who had lived there went away from Canaan.
  15. 7:47 God did not want David to build a house for him. But David brought together the materials to build it.
  16. 7:48 See Isaiah 66:1-2
  17. 7:56 The Son of Man is another name for Jesus. Jesus often called himself the Son of Man when he talked to people. Jesus was ready to receive Stephen into heaven.

Stephen’s Speech

7 The high priest said to Stephen, “Is all this true?” 2 Stephen answered, “My Jewish fathers and brothers, listen to me. Our great and glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, when he was in Mesopotamia. This was before he lived in Haran. 3 God said to him, ‘Leave your country and your people, and go to the country I will show you.’ [ a ]

4 “So Abraham left the country of Chaldea. [ b ] He went to live in Haran. After his father died, God sent him to this place, where you live now. 5 But God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that in the future he would give Abraham this land for himself and for his children. This was before Abraham had any children.

6 “This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will live in another country. They will be strangers. The people there will make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7 But I will punish the nation that made them slaves.’ [ c ] And God also said, ‘After those things happen, your people will come out of that country. Then they will worship me here in this place.’ [ d ]

8 “God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign for this agreement was circumcision. And so when Abraham had a son, he circumcised him when he was eight days old. His son’s name was Isaac. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob. And Jacob did the same for his sons, who became the twelve great ancestors of our people.

9 “These ancestors of ours became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10 and saved him from all his troubles. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt then. He liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. Pharaoh gave Joseph the job of being a governor of Egypt. He even let him rule over all the people in Pharaoh’s house. 11 But all the land of Egypt and of Canaan became dry. It became so dry that food could not grow, and the people suffered very much. Our people could not find anything to eat.

12 “But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he sent our people there. This was their first trip to Egypt. 13 Then they went there a second time. This time Joseph told his brothers who he was. And Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Then Joseph sent some men to tell Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt. He also invited all his relatives, a total of 75 people. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our other ancestors lived there until they died. 16 Later, their bodies were moved to Shechem, where they were put in a tomb. It was the same tomb that Abraham had bought in Shechem from the sons of Hamor. He paid them with silver.

17 “The number of our people in Egypt grew. There were more and more of our people there. The promise that God made to Abraham was soon to come true. 18 Then a different king began to rule Egypt, one who knew nothing about Joseph. 19 This king tricked our people. He treated them badly, making them leave their children outside to die.

20 “This was the time when Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him at home. 21 When they put him outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him. She raised him as her own son. 22 The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew. He was powerful in all he said and did.

23 “When Moses was about 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the people of Israel. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he defended him. Moses hit the Egyptian to pay him back for hurting the man. He hit him so hard that it killed him. 25 Moses thought that his people would understand that God was using him to save them. But they did not understand.

26 “The next day, Moses saw two of his own people fighting. He tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers! Why are you trying to hurt each other?’ 27 The man who was hurting the other one pushed Moses away and said to him, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? 28 Will you kill me just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ [ e ] 29 When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt. He went to live in the land of Midian, where he was a stranger. During the time he lived there, he had two sons.

30 “Forty years later Moses was in the desert near Mount Sinai. An angel appeared to him in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw this, he was amazed. He went near to look closer at it. He heard a voice; it was the Lord’s. 32 The Lord said, ‘I am the same God your ancestors had—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ [ f ] Moses began to shake with fear. He was afraid to look at the bush.

33 “The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because the place where you are now standing is holy ground. 34 I have seen my people suffer much in Egypt. I have heard my people crying and have come down to save them. Come now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’ [ g ]

35 “This Moses was the one his people said they did not want. They said, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge?’ [ h ] But he is the one God sent to be a ruler and savior. God sent him with the help of an angel, the one Moses saw in the burning bush. 36 So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for 40 years.

37 “This is the same Moses who said these words to the people of Israel: ‘God will give you a prophet. That prophet will come from among your own people. He will be like me.’ [ i ] 38 This same Moses was with the gathering of God’s people in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received life-giving words from God to give to us.

39 “But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him. They wanted to go back to Egypt again. 40 They said to Aaron, ‘Moses led us out of the country of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make some gods to go before us and lead us.’ [ j ] 41 So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it. They were very happy with what they had made with their own hands. 42 But God turned against them and let them continue worshiping the army of false gods in the sky. This is what God says in the book that contains what the prophets wrote:

‘People of Israel, you did not bring me blood offerings and sacrifices
in the desert for 40 years;
43 You carried with you the tent for worshiping Moloch
and the image of the star of your god Rephan.
These were the idols you made to worship.
So I will send you away beyond Babylon.’ ( A )

44 “The Holy Tent [ k ] was with our ancestors in the desert. God told Moses how to make this tent. He made it like the plan that God showed him. 45 Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in and God made the other people go out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same tent. Our people received this tent from their fathers, and our people kept it until the time of David. 46 God was very pleased with David. He asked God to let him build a Temple for the people of Jacob. [ l ] 47 But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.

48 “But the Most High God does not live in houses built by human hands. This is what the prophet [ m ] writes:

49 ‘The Lord says, Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is where I rest my feet.
So do you think you can build a house for me?
Do I need a place to rest?
50 Remember, I made all these things!’” ( B )

51 Then Stephen said, “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You refuse to give your hearts to God or even listen to him. You are always against what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. That’s how your ancestors were, and you are just like them! 52 They persecuted every prophet who ever lived. They even killed those who long ago said that the Righteous One would come. And now you have turned against that Righteous One and killed him. 53 You are the people who received God’s law, which he gave you through his angels. But you don’t obey it!”

Stephen Is Killed

54 When those in the council meeting heard this, they became very angry. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side. 56 Stephen said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”

57 Everyone there started shouting loudly, covering their ears with their hands. Together they all ran at Stephen. 58 They took him out of the city and began throwing stones at him. The men who told lies against Stephen gave their coats to a young man named Saul. 59 As they were throwing the stones at him, Stephen was praying. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He fell on his knees and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for this sin!” These were his last words before he died.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:3 Quote from Gen. 12:1.
  2. Acts 7:4 Chaldea Or “Babylonia,” a land in the southern part of Mesopotamia. See verse 2.
  3. Acts 7:7 Quote from Gen. 15:13-14.
  4. Acts 7:7 Quote from Gen. 15:14; Ex. 3:12.
  5. Acts 7:28 Quote from Ex. 2:14.
  6. Acts 7:32 Quote from Ex. 3:6.
  7. Acts 7:34 Quote from Ex. 3:5-10.
  8. Acts 7:35 Quote from Ex. 2:14.
  9. Acts 7:37 Quote from Deut. 18:15.
  10. Acts 7:40 Quote from Ex. 32:1.
  11. Acts 7:44 Holy Tent Literally, “Tent of the Testimony.” See “ Holy Tent ” in the Word List.
  12. Acts 7:46 for the people of Jacob Some Greek copies have “for the God of Jacob.”
  13. Acts 7:48 prophet Isaiah, who spoke for God about 740–700 B.C.

7 Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

6 And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,

10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,

16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:

21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

31 When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,

32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

35 This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

40 Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

47 But Solomon built him an house.

48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

50 Hath not my hand made all these things?

51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen’s Defense

7 Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

2 And [ a ] Stephen said, “Listen to me, ( A ) [ b ] brothers and fathers! ( B ) The God of glory ( C ) appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in [ c ] Haran, 3 and He said to him, ‘ ( D ) Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you .’ 4 ( E ) Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in [ d ] Haran. And ( F ) from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet , ( G ) He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. 6 But ( H ) God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and [ e ] they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years . 7 ‘ And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge ,’ said God, ‘ and ( I ) after that they will come out and [ f ] serve Me in this place .’ 8 And He ( J ) gave him [ g ] the covenant of circumcision; and so ( K ) Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ( L ) Isaac fathered Jacob, and ( M ) Jacob, the twelve ( N ) patriarchs.

9 “The patriarchs ( O ) became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and ( P ) granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

11 “Now ( Q ) a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it , and our fathers [ h ] could find no food. 12 But ( R ) when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 And on the second visit , ( S ) Joseph [ i ] made himself known to his brothers, and ( T ) Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. 14 Then ( U ) Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, ( V ) seventy-five [ j ] ( W ) people in all . 15 And ( X ) Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there . 16 And they were brought back from there to [ k ] ( Y ) Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of [ l ] Hamor in [ m ] Shechem.

17 “But as the ( Z ) time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, ( AA ) the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until ( AB ) another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph . 19 It was he who ( AC ) shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would ( AD ) abandon their infants in the Nile , so that they would not survive. 20 At this time ( AE ) Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home. 21 And after he had been put outside, ( AF ) Pharaoh’s daughter [ n ] took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all ( AG ) the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in [ o ] speaking and action. 23 But when he was approaching the age of forty, ( AH ) it entered his [ p ] mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian. 25 And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them [ q ] deliverance [ r ] through him; but they did not understand. 26 ( AI ) And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?’ 27 But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘ ( AJ ) Who made you a ruler and judge over us ? 28 ( AK ) You do not intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you ?’ 29 At this remark, ( AL ) Moses fled and became a stranger in the land of [ s ] Midian , where he ( AM ) fathered two sons.

30 “After forty years had passed, ( AN ) an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it , he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: 32 ‘ ( AO ) I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob .’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely. 33 ( AP ) But the Lord said to him, ‘ [ t ] ( AQ ) Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground . 34 ( AR ) I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and ( AS ) now come , I will send you to Egypt .’

35 “This Moses whom they ( AT ) disowned, saying, ‘ Who made you a ruler and a judge ?’ is the one whom God [ u ] sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the [ v ] help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 ( AU ) This man led them out, performing ( AV ) wonders and [ w ] signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the ( AW ) wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘ ( AX ) God will raise up for you a prophet [ x ] like me from your countrymen .’ 38 This is the one who was in ( AY ) the [ y ] assembly in the wilderness together with ( AZ ) the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received ( BA ) living ( BB ) words to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they ( BC ) rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 40 ( BD ) saying to Aaron, ‘ Make us [ z ] a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt — we do not know what happened to him .’ 41 [ aa ] At that time ( BE ) they made a [ ab ] calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in ( BF ) the works of their hands. 42 But God ( BG ) turned away and gave them over to [ ac ] serve the heavenly [ ad ] lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘ ( BH ) You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices ( BI ) for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel ? 43 ( BJ ) You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god [ ae ] Rompha, the images which you made to worship . I also will deport you beyond Babylon .’

44 “Our fathers had ( BK ) the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it ( BL ) according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn received it, and they also ( BM ) brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the [ af ] nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. 46 [ ag ] ( BN ) David found favor in God’s sight, and ( BO ) asked that he might [ ah ] find a dwelling place for the [ ai ] house of Jacob. 47 But it was ( BP ) Solomon who built a house for Him. 48 However, ( BQ ) the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

49 ‘ ( BR ) Heaven is My throne ,
And the earth is the footstool of My feet ;
What kind of house will you build for Me ?’ says the Lord,
‘ Or what place is there for My rest ?
50 ( BS ) Was it not My hand that made all these things ?’

51 “You men who are ( BT ) stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 ( BU ) Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of ( BV ) the Righteous One, and ( BW ) you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; 53 you who received the Law as ( BX ) ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Stephen Put to Death

54 Now when they heard this, they were ( BY ) infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But he, being ( BZ ) full of the Holy Spirit, ( CA ) looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing ( CB ) at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the ( CC ) heavens opened and ( CD ) the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one [ aj ] mind. 58 When they had ( CE ) driven him out of the city, they began stoning him ; and ( CF ) the witnesses ( CG ) laid aside their cloaks at the feet of ( CH ) a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he ( CI ) called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he ( CJ ) fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, ( CK ) do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he [ ak ] ( CL ) fell asleep.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:2 Lit he
  2. Acts 7:2 Lit men, brothers
  3. Acts 7:2 Gr Charran
  4. Acts 7:4 Gr Charran
  5. Acts 7:6 I.e., the people of the land (Egypt)
  6. Acts 7:7 Or worship
  7. Acts 7:8 Or a
  8. Acts 7:11 Lit were not finding
  9. Acts 7:13 Or was made known
  10. Acts 7:14 Lit souls
  11. Acts 7:16 Gr Sychem
  12. Acts 7:16 Gr Emmor
  13. Acts 7:16 Gr Sychem
  14. Acts 7:21 Or adopted him
  15. Acts 7:22 Lit his words and actions
  16. Acts 7:23 Lit heart
  17. Acts 7:25 Or salvation
  18. Acts 7:25 Lit through his hand
  19. Acts 7:29 Gr Madiam
  20. Acts 7:33 Lit Untie the sandal of your
  21. Acts 7:35 Lit has sent
  22. Acts 7:35 Lit hand
  23. Acts 7:36 I.e., confirming miracles
  24. Acts 7:37 Or as He raised up me
  25. Acts 7:38 Gr ekklesia
  26. Acts 7:40 Lit gods , plural, but prob. refers to a singular deity
  27. Acts 7:41 Lit in those days
  28. Acts 7:41 Or young bull
  29. Acts 7:42 Or worship
  30. Acts 7:42 Lit host
  31. Acts 7:43 Other mss spell it: Romphan, Rempham, Raiphan ; or Rephan
  32. Acts 7:45 Or Gentiles
  33. Acts 7:46 Lit He who
  34. Acts 7:46 I.e., build the temple
  35. Acts 7:46 I.e., the people of Israel
  36. Acts 7:57 Or purpose
  37. Acts 7:60 I.e., died

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, ( A ) listen to me! The God of glory ( B ) appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. ( C ) 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ [ a ] ( D )

4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. ( E ) 5 He gave him no inheritance here, ( F ) not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, ( G ) even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. ( H ) 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ [ b ] ( I ) 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. ( J ) And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. ( K ) Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, ( L ) and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. ( M )

9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, ( N ) they sold him as a slave into Egypt. ( O ) But God was with him ( P ) 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. ( Q )

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. ( R ) 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. ( S ) 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, ( T ) and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. ( U ) 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, ( V ) seventy-five in all. ( W ) 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. ( X ) 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. ( Y )

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. ( Z ) 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ [ c ] ( AA ) 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. ( AB )

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. [ d ] For three months he was cared for by his family. ( AC ) 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. ( AD ) 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians ( AE ) and was powerful in speech and action.

23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? ( AF ) 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ [ e ] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons. ( AG )

30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: ( AH ) 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, ( AI ) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ [ f ] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. ( AJ )

33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ( AK ) 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’ [ g ] ( AL )

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ ( AM ) He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt ( AN ) and performed wonders and signs ( AO ) in Egypt, at the Red Sea ( AP ) and for forty years in the wilderness. ( AQ )

37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ [ h ] ( AR ) 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel ( AS ) who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; ( AT ) and he received living words ( AU ) to pass on to us. ( AV )

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. ( AW ) 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ [ i ] ( AX ) 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. ( AY ) 42 But God turned away from them ( AZ ) and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. ( BA ) This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’ [ j ] ( BB ) beyond Babylon.

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law ( BC ) with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. ( BD ) 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. ( BE ) It remained in the land until the time of David, ( BF ) 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. [ k ] ( BG ) 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. ( BH )

48 “However, the Most High ( BI ) does not live in houses made by human hands. ( BJ ) As the prophet says:

49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool. ( BK )
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
50 Has not my hand made all these things?’ [ l ] ( BL )

51 “You stiff-necked people! ( BM ) Your hearts ( BN ) and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? ( BO ) They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him ( BP ) — 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels ( BQ ) but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious ( BR ) and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, ( BS ) looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ( BT ) 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open ( BU ) and the Son of Man ( BV ) standing at the right hand of God.”

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city ( BW ) and began to stone him. ( BX ) Meanwhile, the witnesses ( BY ) laid their coats ( BZ ) at the feet of a young man named Saul. ( CA )

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ( CB ) 60 Then he fell on his knees ( CC ) and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” ( CD ) When he had said this, he fell asleep. ( CE )

Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:3 Gen. 12:1
  2. Acts 7:7 Gen. 15:13,14
  3. Acts 7:18 Exodus 1:8
  4. Acts 7:20 Or was fair in the sight of God
  5. Acts 7:28 Exodus 2:14
  6. Acts 7:32 Exodus 3:6
  7. Acts 7:34 Exodus 3:5,7,8,10
  8. Acts 7:37 Deut. 18:15
  9. Acts 7:40 Exodus 32:1
  10. Acts 7:43 Amos 5:25-27 (see Septuagint)
  11. Acts 7:46 Some early manuscripts the house of Jacob
  12. Acts 7:50 Isaiah 66:1,2
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