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22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and works. 23 But when he was well-nigh 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, smiting the Egyptian: 25 and he supposed that his brethren understood that God by his hand was giving them [a]deliverance; but they understood not. 26 And the day following he appeared 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 neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Wouldest thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday? 29 And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. 30 And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord, 32 I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And Moses trembled, and durst not behold. 33 And the Lord said unto him, Loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I 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? him hath God sent to be both a ruler and a [b]deliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them forth, having wrought wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years. 37 This is that Moses, who said unto the children of Israel, [c]A prophet shall God raise up unto you from among your brethren, [d]like unto me. 38 This is he that was in the [e]church in the wilderness with the angel that spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received living oracles to give unto us: 39 to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt, 40 saying unto Aaron, Make us gods that shall go before us: for as for this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. 41 And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets,

[f]Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices
Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,
And the star of the god Rephan,
The figures which ye made to worship them:
And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:25 Or, salvation
  2. Acts 7:35 Greek redeemer.
  3. Acts 7:37 Dt. 18:15.
  4. Acts 7:37 Or, as he raised up me
  5. Acts 7:38 Or, congregation
  6. Acts 7:42 Am. 5:25ff.

22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians(A) 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?(B) 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’[a] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.(C)

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:(D) 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers,(E) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’[b] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.(F)

33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.(G) 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.’[c](H)

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’(I) 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(J) and performed wonders and signs(K) in Egypt, at the Red Sea(L) and for forty years in the wilderness.(M)

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

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.(S) 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!’[e](T) 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.(U) 42 But God turned away from them(V) and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.(W) 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’[f](X) beyond Babylon.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:28 Exodus 2:14
  2. Acts 7:32 Exodus 3:6
  3. Acts 7:34 Exodus 3:5,7,8,10
  4. Acts 7:37 Deut. 18:15
  5. Acts 7:40 Exodus 32:1
  6. Acts 7:43 Amos 5:25-27 (see Septuagint)