14 (A)for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

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14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place(A) and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”(B)

15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin(C) looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

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Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

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

And he said, (A)“Brethren and fathers, listen: The (B)God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in (C)Haran, and said to him, (D)‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ Then (E)he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was (F)dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, (G)He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. But God spoke in this way: (H)that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into (I)bondage and oppress them four hundred years. (J)‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will (K)judge,’ said God, (L)‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ (M)Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; (N)and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; (O)and Isaac begot Jacob, and (P)Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

The Patriarchs in Egypt

(Q)“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, (R)sold Joseph into Egypt. (S)But God was with him 10 and delivered him out of all his troubles, (T)and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11 (U)Now a famine and great [a]trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. 12 (V)But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And the (W)second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. 14 (X)Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and (Y)all his relatives to him, [b]seventy-five people. 15 (Z)So Jacob went down to Egypt; (AA)and he died, he and our fathers. 16 And (AB)they were carried back to Shechem and laid in (AC)the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

God Delivers Israel by Moses

17 “But when (AD)the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, (AE)the people grew and multiplied in Egypt 18 till another king (AF)arose who did not know Joseph. 19 This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, (AG)making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. 20 (AH)At this time Moses was born, and (AI)was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. 21 But (AJ)when he was set out, (AK)Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was (AL)mighty in words and deeds.

23 (AM)“Now when he was 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 and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ 27 But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, (AN)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 (AO)Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he (AP)had two sons.

30 (AQ)“And when forty years had passed, an Angel [c]of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, (AR)‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:11 affliction
  2. Acts 7:14 Or seventy, Ex. 1:5
  3. Acts 7:30 NU omits of the Lord

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

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

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) ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a](D)

“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) 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. 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) 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) 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)

“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)

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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