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Acts 7:30-59
New Living Translation
Acts 7:30-59
New Living Translation
30 “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him, 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.
33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’[a]
35 “So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior. 36 And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.
37 “Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’[b] 38 Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.[c]
39 “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’ 41 So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. 42 Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written,
‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings
during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
43 No, you carried your pagan gods—
the shrine of Molech,
the star of your god Rephan,
and the images you made to worship them.
So I will send you into exile
as far away as Babylon.’[d]
44 “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle[e] with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. 45 Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.
46 “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob.[f] 47 But it was Solomon who actually built it. 48 However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?’
asks the Lord.
‘Could you build me such a resting place?
50 Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’[g]
51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen[h] at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! 52 Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53 You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
54 The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.[i] 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 56 And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”
57 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him 58 and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.[j]
59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 7:31-34 Exod 3:5-10.
- 7:37 Deut 18:15.
- 7:38 Some manuscripts read to you.
- 7:42-43 Amos 5:25-27 (Greek version).
- 7:44 Greek the tent of witness.
- 7:46 Some manuscripts read the house of Jacob.
- 7:49-50 Isa 66:1-2.
- 7:51 Greek uncircumcised.
- 7:54 Greek they were grinding their teeth against him.
- 7:58 Saul is later called Paul; see 13:9.
Acts 7:30-59
New International Version
Acts 7:30-59
New International Version
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:(A) 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers,(B) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’[a] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.(C)
33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.(D) 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.’[b](E)
35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’(F) 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(G) and performed wonders and signs(H) in Egypt, at the Red Sea(I) and for forty years in the wilderness.(J)
37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’[c](K) 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel(L) who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors;(M) and he received living words(N) to pass on to us.(O)
39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.(P) 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!’[d](Q) 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.(R) 42 But God turned away from them(S) and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.(T) 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’[e](U) beyond Babylon.
44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law(V) with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.(W) 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.(X) It remained in the land until the time of David,(Y) 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[f](Z) 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.(AA)
48 “However, the Most High(AB) does not live in houses made by human hands.(AC) As the prophet says:
49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.(AD)
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?’[g](AE)
51 “You stiff-necked people!(AF) Your hearts(AG) 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?(AH) They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him(AI)— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels(AJ) but have not obeyed it.”
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious(AK) and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,(AL) looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.(AM) 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open(AN) and the Son of Man(AO) 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(AP) and began to stone him.(AQ) Meanwhile, the witnesses(AR) laid their coats(AS) at the feet of a young man named Saul.(AT)
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”(AU)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.