使徒行传 7
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Simplified)
司提凡的申辩
7 大祭司问：“这是真的吗？” 2 司提凡说：“各位父老兄弟，请听我说！我们的祖先亚伯拉罕还未迁到哈兰之前，住在美索不达米亚，荣耀的上帝向他显现，说， 3 ‘你要离开家乡和亲族，到我要指示你的地方去。’ 4 亚伯拉罕就离开迦勒底人的地方，在哈兰住了下来。他父亲过世以后，上帝又领他到你们现在居住的这个地方。 5 当时在这片土地上，上帝没有给他任何产业，他甚至连立足之地也没有。但上帝应许要把这片土地赐给他和他的后裔作产业，尽管那时候亚伯拉罕还没有儿子。 6 上帝又说，‘你的子孙必流落异乡，受奴役、被虐待四百年。 7 但我必惩罚奴役他们的国家，之后你的子孙要离开那里，在这片土地上事奉我。’ 8 上帝又赐下割礼作为祂与亚伯拉罕立约的凭据。亚伯拉罕在以撒出生后的第八天为他行割礼。照样，以撒为他的儿子雅各行了割礼，雅各也为他的儿子——以色列十二位先祖行了割礼。[a]
9 “先祖们嫉妒自己的弟弟约瑟，把他卖到了埃及。但上帝一直与他同在， 10 救他脱离一切危难，又赐他过人的智慧，使他在埃及法老面前得到恩宠，官拜宰相治理全国，并管理王室。 11 后来，埃及和迦南全境遭遇饥荒，灾情严重，我们的先祖们断了粮。 12 雅各听说埃及有粮，就派先祖们去那里买粮，那是我们的先祖初次去埃及。 13 他们第二次去的时候，约瑟才和弟兄们相认，并且领他们拜见埃及王。 14 后来，约瑟派人去把父亲雅各和全族七十五人都接到埃及。 15 从此以后，雅各和其他先祖们便定居埃及，直到去世。 16 后来他们的遗体被带回示剑，安葬在亚伯拉罕买自哈抹子孙的墓地里。
17 “上帝对亚伯拉罕所应许的日子快到的时侯，以色列人在埃及的人口已大大增加。 18 后来埃及有一位不认识约瑟的新王登基。 19 他用毒计苦害我们的同胞，虐待我们的祖先，强令他们把婴孩抛弃，不让婴孩存活。 20 那时，摩西出生了，他长得俊美非凡。他的父母在家里偷偷地抚养了他三个月， 21 最后不得已才丢弃他。法老的女儿救了他，收为养子。
22 “摩西学会了埃及人一切的学问，成为一个说话办事很有能力的人。 23 他四十岁那年决定去探望自己的同胞以色列人。 24 他到了他们那里，看见一个埃及人正在欺负以色列人，就打抱不平，杀了那个埃及人。 25 摩西以为同胞们会明白上帝要借着他的手拯救他们，可是他们并不明白。 26 第二天，他看见两个以色列人在打架，就上前劝解说，‘大家都是同胞，为什么互相殴打呢？’ 27 不料那个欺负人的推开摩西说，‘谁立你做我们的首领和审判官？ 28 难道你要杀我，像昨天杀那个埃及人一样吗？’ 29 摩西听了这话，就逃到米甸寄居，在那里成家，生了两个儿子。
30 “过了四十年，在西奈山的旷野，上帝的天使在荆棘火焰中向摩西显现。 31 摩西见状很惊奇，正要上前看个究竟，就听见主说， 32 ‘我是你祖先的上帝，是亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的上帝。’摩西战战兢兢，不敢观看。 33 主又说，‘脱下你脚上的鞋子，因为你所站的地方是圣地。 34 我已清楚看见我子民在埃及所受的苦难，也听见了他们的哀叹，我下来要救他们。你来，我要派你回埃及。’
35 “百姓曾拒绝这位摩西，说，‘谁立你做我们的首领和审判官？’上帝却借着在荆棘中显现的天使亲自差遣他，立他为首领和拯救者。 36 摩西带领以色列人出埃及，过红海，越旷野，四十年间行了许多神迹奇事。 37 就是这位摩西曾对以色列人说，‘上帝要在你们中间兴起一位像我一样的先知。’ 38 这位摩西曾在旷野与以色列的会众——我们的祖先在一起，又在西奈山上与向他传信息的天使在一起，并且领受了生命之道传给我们。
39 “可是我们的祖先不听从他，甚至弃绝他，心里对埃及恋恋不舍。 40 他们请求亚伦说，‘为我们造一些神像来带领我们吧！领我们离开埃及的那个摩西不知怎样了。’ 41 于是，他们造了一个牛犊像，向它献祭，并为自己所做的事沾沾自喜。 42 因此，上帝转脸不顾他们，任由他们祭拜日月星辰，正如先知书的记载，
“‘以色列家啊，
在旷野的四十年间，
你们向我献过祭物和供品吗？
43 你们抬着为自己所造的神像，
就是摩洛的帐篷和理番神明的星，
祭拜它们，
所以我要把你们赶到比巴比伦还远的地方去。’
44 “我们的祖先在旷野的时候，一直带着安放约柜的圣幕，这圣幕是上帝吩咐摩西照他所看见的样式造的。 45 后来我们的祖先承受了圣幕。上帝从我们祖先面前赶走外族人，使他们得到了应许之地。他们同约书亚把圣幕带到那里，一直到大卫的时代。 46 大卫蒙上帝悦纳，祈求为雅各的上帝建造一座圣殿。 47 结果是他的儿子所罗门为上帝建成了圣殿。
48 “其实至高的上帝并不住人造的殿，祂曾借着先知说， 49 ‘天是我的宝座，地是我的脚凳，你们要为我造怎样的殿宇？哪里可作我的安歇之处？ 50 这一切不都是我亲手创造的吗？’
51 “你们这些顽固不化、耳不听心不悔的人[b]，经常抗拒圣灵，所作所为和你们的祖先如出一辙！ 52 哪一位先知没有被你们祖先迫害？那些预言义者——弥赛亚要来的人也被你们的祖先杀害。如今你们竟出卖了那位公义者，杀害了祂！ 53 你们接受了上帝借天使所传的律法，竟不遵守！”
司提凡殉道
54 众人听了这番话，怒火中烧，咬牙切齿。 55 司提凡却被圣灵充满，定睛望天，看见上帝的荣耀和站在上帝右边的耶稣。 56 司提凡说：“看啊！我看见天开了，人子站在上帝的右边。”
57 众人大喊大叫，捂着耳朵，蜂拥而上， 58 把司提凡拉到城外，用石头打他。指控他的人把他们的衣服交给一个名叫扫罗的青年看管。 59 在乱石击打之下，司提凡呼求说：“主耶稣啊，接收我的灵魂吧！”然后跪下高声说： 60 “主啊，不要追究他们的罪！”说完后，就断气了。
使 徒 行 傳 7
Chinese New Testament: Easy-to-Read Version
司提反的话
7 这时，大祭司问道∶“事实是这样的吗？” 2 司提反答道∶“父老兄弟们，请听我说！我们的祖先亚伯拉罕还在米所波大米时，也就是移居哈兰之前，荣耀无比的上帝便出现在他的面前， 3 对他说∶‘离开你的故土和亲人，到我指给你看的地方去。’ [a] 4 所以，亚伯拉罕便离开了迦勒底人的国土，来到了哈兰。他的父亲去世后，上帝又让他从那里搬迁到了你们现在生活的地方。 5 上帝没有给他任何产业，连立足之地也没有给他。然而，上帝却许下诺言，要把那块土地赐给他和他的后代做为财产，尽管亚伯拉罕当时并没有孩子。 6 上帝是这样对他说的∶‘你的子孙后代要成为异乡的陌生人，那里的人要奴役、虐待他们四百年。 7 然后，我会惩罚奴役他们的民族。’上帝还说∶‘然后，他们会离开那里，在这个地方崇拜我。’ 8 于是，上帝赐给了亚伯拉罕割礼的契约。接着，亚伯拉罕做了以撒的父亲。并在以撒出生之后的第八天，给他行了割礼，后来，以撒做了雅各的父亲，雅各又做了十二个族长的父亲。
9 这些族长非常嫉妒约瑟（他们的弟弟）。他们把他卖到了埃及做奴隶，但是，上帝与他同在。 10 上帝把他从他的一切困苦中解救了出来。上帝又赐给约瑟智慧，使他能够得到埃及王法老的宠爱。后来，法老让他做了埃及的宰相，并兼掌他的全部家眷。 11 后来，埃及和迦南各地都发生了大饥荒，那里的人们都受着煎熬。我们的祖先找不到食物。 12 雅各听说埃及有食物，便派遣我们的祖先到那里去了－这是第一次。 13 他们第二次去埃及的时候，约瑟便与几个兄弟相认了，法老由此了解了约瑟的家庭。 14 约瑟又派人去请来他的父亲雅各和所有的亲属，一共七十五人。 15 雅各南下埃及。他和我们的祖先们最后都死在那里。 16 他们的尸体被运回示剑，葬在亚伯拉罕用一笔钱向哈抹的儿子们买来的墓穴里。
17 当上帝对亚伯拉罕许下的诺言就要实现的时候，在埃及的以色列人已经大大地增多了。 18 然后，新国王登基，开始统治埃及。他一点也不了解约瑟。 19 这个国王狡猾地欺骗我们的民族，虐待他们，强迫他们把婴儿丢弃在屋外，为了让他们活不下去。 20 就在那时候，摩西出世了，他长得非常可爱。在他父亲家里抚养了三个月。 21 当他被放在外边时，法老的女儿收养了他，把他当做自己的儿子来哺育。 22 因此，摩西受到了完整的埃及智慧的教育，他的语言和行动都具有力量。
23 摩西大约四十岁的时候，决定去拜访他的兄弟，也就是那些以色列人。 24 当他看到一个同胞正在受虐待时，便去卫护他，把那个欺负他的埃及人杀掉，为他报了仇。 25 （摩西以为他自己的犹太兄弟们会知道，是上帝派他来解救他们的，但是，他们却没有意识到这点。） 26 第二天，他遇见一些同胞在打架，他想替他们调解，于是便说∶“你们都是兄弟，为什么要虐待彼此呢？” 27 可是，那个欺负自己邻居的人却把摩西推到了一边，说∶“谁指定你做我们的领袖和法官了？ 28 你昨天杀了那个埃及人，今天你是不是要来杀我呀？” 29 摩西听到这些，便离开了埃及，去了米甸，在那里客居下来，并且生了两个儿子。
30 四十年后，一位天使在西乃山附近旷野里燃烧着荆棘的火焰中，在摩西的面前出现了。 31 摩西见到这个情景，觉得十分惊奇。他走近它，想看得更清楚一些。这时，他听到了主的声音说： 32 “我是你的祖先们的上帝，是亚伯拉罕、以撒和雅各 [b]的上帝。”摩西听了，吓得浑身颤栗，不敢看了。 33 主又对他说∶“把你脚上的草鞋脱下来，因为你站的那块土地是神圣的土地。 34 我已目睹了我的子民在埃及所受的虐待，我已经听到了他们的呻吟，我下到这里是解放我的子民的。来吧，我要把你派谴回埃及。”
35 这就是那个被人拒弃说“谁指定你做我们的领袖和法官了？”的摩西。上帝借出现在燃烧的荆棘中的天使派遣他做了领袖和救世主。 36 摩西带领人们离开了埃及。他在埃及国土、在红海之滨和旷野里四十年中，做出一个又一个奇事和迹象。 37 摩西对以色列人是这样说的∶“上帝要从你们自己人当中为你们派遣一位像我这样的先知。” 38 他和聚集在旷野里的以色列人在一起、和我们的祖先，以及在西乃山上与他说话的那个天使在一起，他领受了赋予生命的话，然后把它给了我们。
39 但是，我们的祖先们不但拒绝服从他，而且还抛弃了他，他们在心里又回到埃及去了。 40 他们对亚伦说∶“造一些为我们引路的神吧，这个指引我们走出埃及的摩西，我们不知道他遇到过什么事。” 41 就在那时，他们造了一头牛犊的像，并把祭品献给这个偶像，接着开始为他们双手造出的东西而庆祝。 42 可是，上帝离开他们了，任凭他们去崇拜星辰。正如先知书上所记载的那样：
‘以色列的居民啊，
你们在旷野里生活了四十年，
你们的牺牲和祭物，不是为我献上的。
43 你们抬着摩洛的帐篷和你们理番神的星辰，
即你们崇拜的偶像；
因此，我要逐出你们
到巴比伦的另一边去。’ (A)
44 “在旷野里与我们祖先们同在的圣帐，是上帝吩咐摩西按照他看见的样式制做成的。 45 我们的祖先继承了这圣帐，当上帝在他们前边赶走外族人占据的那片土地时，约书亚便带领他们占据了那片土地，圣帐也被带到那里，直到大卫的时代。 46 大卫受着上帝的宠爱，于是请求允许他为雅各的上帝造一座殿宇， 47 但是却是所罗门为上帝建造了这所殿宇。
48 不过，至高的上帝没有住在人类双手所建的房子里，正如一个先知所说的那样：
49 ‘天是我的宝座，
地是我的垫脚凳，
你们要为我盖一所什么样的房子呢？主说，
或者说，那里是我休息的地方呢？
50 难道这一切不都是我创造出来的吗？’” (B)
51 “你们这些顽固的犹太领袖，你们没有把心交给上帝！你们就是不听他的！你们总是抵制圣灵，就像你们的祖先一样！ 52 过去，哪一个先知没有遭到过你们祖先的迫害？他们甚至杀掉了那些很久以前预言“义者要到来”的先知。而现在，你们又出卖并且杀害了那义者。 53 你们领受了天使传给你们的律法，但是却从不遵守它！”
司提反被杀害
54 那些犹太人听到这里，都火冒三丈，对他恨得咬牙切齿。 55 然而，司提反的心中充满了圣灵，举目望天，看见了上帝的荣耀和站在他右侧的耶稣。 56 他说∶“看哪，我看见天空开启，人子正站在上帝的右侧。”
57 听到这番话，他们开始大喊大叫起来，并堵住自己的耳朵，然后，他们便朝司提反蜂拥而上， 58 把他拉出城去，开始用石头砸他。那些见证人脱下外套，放在一个年轻人的脚边。这个年轻人名字叫扫罗。 59 当那帮人不断用石头砸司提反时，司提反祷告道∶“主耶稣啊，接受我的灵吧！” 60 随后，他跪下来，大声喊道∶“主啊，不要为此罪责怪他们！”说完，他就死了。
Footnotes
- 使 徒 行 傳 7:3 引自《创世记》12:1。
- 使 徒 行 傳 7:32 亚伯拉罕、以撒和雅各： 在旧约时代最重要的犹太人的领袖中的三人。
使徒行传 7
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
司提反的申辯
7 大祭司說：“真有這些事嗎？” 2 司提反說：“各位父老兄弟請聽！我們的祖宗亞伯拉罕，在美索不達米亞，還沒有住在哈蘭的時候，榮耀的 神向他顯現， 3 對他說：‘你要離開本地本族，到我指示你的地方去。’ 4 他就離開迦勒底人的地方，住在哈蘭。他父親死後， 神又叫他從那裡遷到你們現在所住的地方。 5 在這裡 神並沒有賜他產業，連立足之地也沒有。但 神應許把這地賜給他和他的後裔為業，雖然那時他還沒有兒子。 6 神就這樣說：‘你的後裔必在外地寄居，人要奴役、虐待他們四百年。’ 7 神又說：‘奴役他們的那個國家，我要親自懲罰。以後，他們要出來，在這地方事奉我。’ 8 神也賜他割禮為約。這樣，亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八天就給他行了割禮。後來，以撒生雅各，雅各生了十二位祖先。
9 “祖先妒忌約瑟，把他賣到埃及去，然而 神與他同在， 10 救他脫離一切苦難，使他在埃及王法老面前，有智慧、得恩寵。法老立他為首相，管理埃及和法老的全家。 11 後來埃及和迦南全地遭遇饑荒、大災難，我們的祖先找不到糧食。 12 雅各聽見埃及有穀糧，就派我們的祖先去，這是第一次。 13 第二次的時候，約瑟就向哥哥們表露自己的身世，法老才知道約瑟的家世。 14 約瑟就派人去把他父親雅各和全家七十五人都接來。 15 於是雅各下了埃及。後來他和我們祖先都死了， 16 運到示劍，埋葬在亞伯拉罕用銀子向哈抹子孫買來的墳地裡。
17 “ 神給亞伯拉罕的應許快要實現的時候，以色列人在埃及人口繁盛增多； 18 但是，到了另一位不認識約瑟的君王興起統治埃及的時候， 19 他就謀害我們的同胞，虐待我們的祖先，逼他們拋棄自己的嬰孩，不容嬰孩存活。 20 就在那時候，摩西出生了，他非常俊美，在父親的家中撫養了三個月。 21 他被拋棄的時候，法老的女兒把他拾起來，當作兒子撫養。 22 摩西學盡了埃及人的一切學問，說話行事都有能力。
23 “到了四十歲，他心中起了一個念頭，要去看望自己的同胞以色列人。 24 當他看見有一個人受欺負，就去護衛，為那受屈的抱不平，打死了那個埃及人。 25 他以為同胞們都必知道 神要藉著他的手拯救他們，事實上他們卻不知道。 26 第二天，有人在打架，摩西就出面調解，說：‘你們是弟兄，為甚麼彼此欺負呢？’ 27 那欺負鄰舍的把他推開，說：‘誰立了你作我們的領袖和審判官呢？ 28 難道你想殺我，像昨天殺那個埃及人一樣嗎？’ 29 摩西因為這句話，就逃到米甸地寄居，在那裡生了兩個兒子。
30 “過了四十年，在西奈山的曠野，有一位使者，在荊棘中的火燄裡，向摩西顯現。 31 他見了這個異象，十分驚奇；他正上前察看的時候，就有主的聲音說： 32 ‘我是你祖宗的 神，就是亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的 神。’摩西戰戰兢兢，不敢觀看。 33 主對他說：‘把你腳上的鞋脫掉，因為你所站的地方是聖地。 34 我的子民在埃及所受的痛苦，我實在看見了；他們的歎息我也聽見了，我下來是要救他們。你來，我要派你到埃及去。’ 35 他們拒絕了這位摩西，說：‘誰立了你作領袖和審判官呢？’但 神藉著在荊棘中向他顯現的使者的手，派他作領袖和救贖者。 36 這人領他們出來，並且在埃及地、紅海和曠野，行奇事神蹟四十年。 37 以前那位對以色列人說‘ 神要從你們弟兄中間，給你們興起一位先知像我’的，就是這摩西。 38 那曾經在曠野的大會中，和那在西奈山上對他說話的使者同在，也與我們的祖先同在的，就是他。他領受了活的聖言，傳給我們。 39 我們的祖先不肯聽從他，反而把他推開，他們的心已經轉向了埃及， 40 就對亞倫說：‘給我們做一些神像，可以走在我們前頭。因為把我們從埃及地領出來的那個摩西，我們不知道他遭遇了甚麼事。’ 41 在那些日子裡，他們做了一個牛犢，把祭物獻給那偶像，並且因自己手所做的而歡樂。 42 於是 神轉身離開，任憑他們事奉天象，正如先知書所說：
‘以色列家啊，
你們在曠野四十年，
豈是將祭牲和祭物獻給我呢？
43 你們抬著摩洛的帳幕，
和理番神的星，
就是你們做來敬拜的像。
所以我要把你們放逐到巴比倫那一邊去。’
44 “我們的祖先在曠野有作證的帳幕，就是跟摩西談話的那位指示他，依照他看見的樣式做的。 45 我們的祖先相繼承受了這帳幕， 神把外族人從他們面前趕走以後，他們就同約書亞把帳幕帶進所得為業的地方，直到大衛的日子。 46 大衛在 神面前蒙了恩，就求為雅各的 神找個居所， 47 而由所羅門為他建造殿宇。 48 其實至高者並不住人手所造的，正如先知說：
49 ‘主說：天是我的寶座，
地是我的腳凳，
你們要為我建造怎樣的殿呢？
哪裡是我安息的地方呢？
50 這一切不都是我手所造的嗎？’
51 “你們頸項剛硬、心和耳都未受割禮的人哪！你們時常抗拒聖靈，你們的祖先怎樣，你們也怎樣。 52 有哪一個先知，你們的祖先不迫害呢？你們殺了那些預先宣告那義者要來的人，現在又把那義者出賣了，殺害了。 53 你們領受了由天使傳達的律法，卻不遵守。”
司提反被石頭打死
54 眾人聽了這些話，心中非常惱怒，就向著司提反咬牙切齒。 55 但司提反被聖靈充滿，定睛望著天，看見 神的榮耀，並且看見耶穌站在 神的右邊， 56 就說：“看哪！我看見天開了，人子站在 神的右邊。” 57 眾人大聲喊叫，掩著耳朵，一齊向他衝過去， 58 把他推出城外，用石頭打他。那些證人把自己的衣服，放在一個名叫掃羅的青年人腳前。 59 他們用石頭打司提反的時候，他呼求說：“主耶穌啊，求你接收我的靈魂！” 60 然後跪下來大聲喊著說：“主啊，不要把這罪歸給他們！”說了這話，就睡了。
Acts 7
EasyEnglish Bible
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
- 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.
- 7:4 The land that God led Abraham to was called Canaan. This country is now called Israel. Jerusalem is the capital city.
- 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.
- 7:8 Jacob is also sometimes called Israel. We can read the names of Jacob's 12 sons in Genesis 35:23-26.
- 7:15 The kings of the country of Egypt were always called Pharaoh. We can read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37—50.
- 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.
- 7:21 We can read this story about Moses in Exodus 2:1-10.
- 7:34 We can read this story about Moses in Exodus 3.
- 7:36 We can read about this in Exodus 7—17.
- 7:40 Aaron was the brother of Moses.
- 7:41 We can read about this in Exodus 32:1-6.
- 7:43 We can read this in Amos 5:25-27. Amos was speaking a message from God.
- 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.
- 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.
- 7:47 God did not want David to build a house for him. But David brought together the materials to build it.
- 7:48 See Isaiah 66:1-2
- 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.
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