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司提反当众申诉

大祭司就说:“这些事果然有吗?” 司提反说:“诸位父兄请听!当日我们的祖宗亚伯拉罕美索不达米亚,还未住哈兰的时候,荣耀的神向他显现, 对他说:‘你要离开本地和亲族,往我所要指示你的地方去。’ 他就离开迦勒底人之地,住在哈兰。他父亲死了以后,神使他从那里搬到你们现在所住之地。 在这地方,神并没有给他产业,连立足之地也没有给他;但应许要将这地赐给他和他的后裔为业,那时他还没有儿子。 神说他的后裔‘必寄居外邦,那里的人要叫他们做奴仆,苦待他们四百年’。 神又说‘使他们做奴仆的那国,我要惩罚。以后他们要出来,在这地方侍奉我’。 神又赐他割礼的约;于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒,第八日给他行了割礼。以撒雅各雅各生十二位先祖。 先祖嫉妒约瑟,把他卖到埃及去。神却与他同在, 10 救他脱离一切苦难,又使他在埃及王法老面前得恩典、有智慧。法老就派他做埃及国的宰相兼管全家。 11 后来埃及迦南全地遭遇饥荒,大受艰难,我们的祖宗就绝了粮。 12 雅各听见在埃及有粮,就打发我们的祖宗初次往那里去。 13 第二次约瑟与弟兄们相认,他的亲族也被法老知道了。 14 约瑟就打发弟兄请父亲雅各和全家七十五个人都来。 15 于是雅各下了埃及。后来他和我们的祖宗都死在那里, 16 又被带到示剑,葬于亚伯拉罕示剑用银子从哈抹子孙买来的坟墓里。 17 及至神应许亚伯拉罕的日期将到,以色列民在埃及兴盛众多, 18 直到有不晓得约瑟的新王兴起。 19 他用诡计待我们的宗族,苦害我们的祖宗,叫他们丢弃婴孩,使婴孩不能存活。 20 那时,摩西生下来,俊美非凡,在他父亲家里抚养了三个月。 21 他被丢弃的时候,法老的女儿拾了去,养为自己的儿子。 22 摩西学了埃及人一切的学问,说话行事都有才能。 23 他将到四十岁,心中起意去看望他的弟兄以色列人。 24 到了那里,见他们一个人受冤屈,就护庇他,为那受欺压的人报仇,打死了那埃及人。 25 他以为弟兄必明白神是借他的手搭救他们,他们却不明白。 26 第二天遇见两个以色列人争斗,就劝他们和睦,说:‘你们二位是弟兄,为什么彼此欺负呢?’ 27 那欺负邻舍的把他推开,说:‘谁立你做我们的首领和审判官呢? 28 难道你要杀我,像昨天杀那埃及人吗?’ 29 摩西听见这话就逃走了,寄居于米甸,在那里生了两个儿子。 30 过了四十年,在西奈山的旷野,有一位天使从荆棘火焰中向摩西显现。 31 摩西见了那异象,便觉稀奇,正进前观看的时候,有主的声音说: 32 ‘我是你列祖的神,就是亚伯拉罕的神、以撒的神、雅各的神。’摩西战战兢兢,不敢观看。 33 主对他说:‘把你脚上的鞋脱下来,因为你所站之地是圣地。 34 我的百姓在埃及所受的困苦,我实在看见了;他们悲叹的声音,我也听见了。我下来要救他们。你来!我要差你往埃及去。’ 35 摩西就是百姓弃绝说‘谁立你做我们的首领和审判官’的,神却借那在荆棘中显现之使者的手,差派他做首领、做救赎的。 36 这人领百姓出来,在埃及,在红海,在旷野四十年间,行了奇事神迹。 37 那曾对以色列人说‘神要从你们弟兄中间给你们兴起一位先知像我’的,就是这位摩西 38 这人曾在旷野会中和西奈山上与那对他说话的天使同在,又与我们的祖宗同在,并且领受活泼的圣言传给我们。 39 我们的祖宗不肯听从,反弃绝他,心里归向埃及 40 亚伦说:‘你且为我们造些神像,在我们前面引路,因为领我们出埃及地的那个摩西,我们不知道他遭了什么事。’ 41 那时,他们造了一个牛犊,又拿祭物献给那像,欢喜自己手中的工作。 42 神就转脸不顾,任凭他们侍奉天上的日月星辰,正如先知书上所写的说:‘以色列家啊,你们四十年间在旷野,岂是将牺牲和祭物献给我吗? 43 你们抬着摩洛的帐幕和理番神的星,就是你们所造为要敬拜的像。因此,我要把你们迁到巴比伦外去。’ 44 我们的祖宗在旷野有法柜的帐幕,是神吩咐摩西叫他照所看见的样式做的。 45 这帐幕,我们的祖宗相继承受。当神在他们面前赶出外邦人去的时候,他们同约书亚把帐幕搬进承受为业之地,直存到大卫的日子。 46 大卫在神面前蒙恩,祈求为雅各的神预备居所, 47 却是所罗门为神造成殿宇。 48 其实,至高者并不住人手所造的,就如先知所言: 49 ‘主说:“天是我的座位,地是我的脚凳,你们要为我造何等的殿宇?哪里是我安息的地方呢? 50 这一切不都是我手所造的吗?”’ 51 你们这硬着颈项、心与耳未受割礼的人,常时抗拒圣灵!你们的祖宗怎样,你们也怎样。 52 哪一个先知不是你们祖宗逼迫呢?他们也把预先传说那义者要来的人杀了,如今你们又把那义者卖了、杀了。 53 你们受了天使所传的律法,竟不遵守!”

看见神的荣耀

54 众人听见这话,就极其恼怒,向司提反咬牙切齿。 55 司提反被圣灵充满,定睛望天,看见神的荣耀,又看见耶稣站在神的右边, 56 就说:“我看见天开了,人子站在神的右边!”

众人用石打死他

57 众人大声喊叫,捂着耳朵,齐心拥上前去, 58 把他推到城外,用石头打他。作见证的人把衣裳放在一个少年人名叫扫罗的脚前。 59 他们正用石头打的时候,司提反呼吁主说:“求主耶稣接收我的灵魂!” 60 又跪下大声喊着说:“主啊,不要将这罪归于他们!”说了这话就睡了。扫罗也喜悦他被害。

Stephen’s Defense

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

And [a]Stephen said, “Listen to me, [b](A)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, and He said to him, ‘(D)Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’ (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. 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. 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. 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.’ 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.

“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 Egyptwe 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

The high priest said to Stephen, “Are these things true?”

Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. God said to Abraham, ‘Leave your country and your relatives, and go to the land I will show you.’[a] So Abraham left the country of Chaldea and went to live in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God sent him to this place where you now live. God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that he would give this land to him and his descendants, even before Abraham had a child. This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a land they don’t own. The people there will make them slaves and will mistreat them for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation where they are slaves. Then your descendants will leave that land and will worship me in this place.’[b] God made an agreement with Abraham, the sign of which was circumcision. And so when Abraham had his son Isaac, Abraham circumcised him when he was eight days old. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same for his sons, the twelve ancestors[c] of our people.

“Jacob’s sons became jealous of Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10 and saved him from all his troubles. The king of Egypt liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. The king made him governor of Egypt and put him in charge of all the people in his palace.

11 “Then all the land of Egypt and Canaan became so dry that nothing would grow, and the people suffered very much. Jacob’s sons, our ancestors, could not find anything to eat. 12 But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent his sons there. This was their first trip to Egypt. 13 When they went there a second time, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Then Joseph sent messengers to invite Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt along with all his relatives (seventy-five persons altogether). 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and his sons died. 16 Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and put in a grave there. (It was the same grave Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.)

17 “The promise God made to Abraham was soon to come true, and the number of people in Egypt grew large. 18 Then a new king, who did not know who Joseph was, began to rule Egypt. 19 This king tricked our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to leave their babies outside to die. 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was very beautiful. For three months Moses was cared for in his father’s house. 21 When they put Moses outside, the king’s daughter adopted him and raised him as if he were her own son. 22 The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew, and he was a powerful man in what he said and did.

23 “When Moses was about forty years old, he thought it would be good to visit his own people, the people of Israel. 24 Moses saw an Egyptian mistreating one of his people, so he defended the Israelite and punished the Egyptian by killing him. 25 Moses thought his own people would understand that God was using him to save them, but they did not. 26 The next day when Moses saw two men of Israel fighting, he tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you hurting each other?’ 27 The man who was hurting the other pushed Moses away and said, ‘Who made you our ruler and judge? 28 Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’[d] 29 When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt and went to live in the land of Midian where he was a stranger. While Moses lived in Midian, he had two sons.

30 “Forty years later an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush as he was in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw this, he was amazed and went near to look closer. Moses heard the Lord’s voice say, 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’[e] Moses began to shake with fear and was afraid to look. 33 The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. 34 I have seen the troubles my people have suffered in Egypt. I have heard their cries and have come down to save them. And now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’[f]

35 “This Moses was the same man the two men of Israel rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’[g] Moses is the same man God sent to be a ruler and savior, with the help of the angel that Moses saw in the burning bush. 36 So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked miracles and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for forty years. 37 This is the same Moses that said to the people of Israel, ‘God will give you a prophet like me, who is one of your own people.’[h] 38 This is the Moses who was with the gathering of the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel that spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received commands from God that give life, and he gave those commands to us.

39 “But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt. 40 They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don’t know what has happened to him.’[i] 41 So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it and were proud of what they had made with their own hands. 42 But God turned against them and did not try to stop them from worshiping the sun, moon, and stars. This is what is written in the book of the prophets: God says,

‘People of Israel, you did not bring me sacrifices and offerings
    while you traveled in the desert for forty years.
43 You have carried with you
    the tent to worship Molech
    and the idols of the star god Rephan that you made to worship.
So I will send you away beyond Babylon.’ Amos 5:25–27

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

48 “But the Most High does not live in houses that people build with their hands. As the prophet says:

49 ‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
So do you think you can build a house for me? says the Lord.
    Do I need a place to rest?
50 Remember, my hand made all these things!’” Isaiah 66:1–2

51 Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn people! You have not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you, just as your ancestors were. 52 Your ancestors tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the One who is good would come, but your ancestors killed them. And now you have turned against and killed the One who is good. 53 You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels, but you haven’t obeyed it.”

Stephen Is Killed

54 When the leaders heard this, they became furious. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at Stephen. 55 But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right side. 56 He said, “Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”

57 Then they shouted loudly and covered their ears and all ran at Stephen. 58 They took him out of the city and began to throw stones at him to kill him. And those who told lies against Stephen left their coats with a young man named Saul. 59 While they were throwing stones, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After Stephen said this, he died.

Footnotes

  1. 7:3 ‘Leave . . . you.’ Quotation from Genesis 12:1.
  2. 7:6–7 ‘Your descendants . . . place.’ Quotation from Genesis 15:13–14 and Exodus 3:12.
  3. 7:8 twelve ancestors Important ancestors of the people of Israel; the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.
  4. 7:27–28 ‘Who . . . yesterday?’ Quotation from Exodus 2:14.
  5. 7:32 ‘I am . . . Jacob.’ Quotation from Exodus 3:6.
  6. 7:33–34 ‘Take . . . Egypt.’ Quotation from Exodus 3:5–10.
  7. 7:35 ‘Who . . . judge?’ Quotation from Exodus 2:14.
  8. 7:37 ‘God . . . people.’ Quotation from Deuteronomy 18:15.
  9. 7:40 ‘Make . . . him.’ Quotation from Exodus 32:1.
  10. 7:46 Jacob Some Greek copies read “the house of Jacob.” This means the people of Israel.