Acts 1-7

Easy-to-Read Version

Luke Writes Another Book

1 Dear Theophilus,

The first book I wrote was about everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning ² until the day he was carried up into heaven. Before he went, he talked to the apostles he had chosen. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he told them what they should do. ³ This was after his death, but he showed them that he was alive, proving it to them in many ways. The apostles saw Jesus many times during the 40 days after he was raised from death. He spoke to them about God’s kingdom. ⁴ One time when Jesus was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, “Wait here until you receive what the Father promised to send. Remember, I told you about it before. ⁵ John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus Is Carried Up Into Heaven

⁶ The apostles were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for you to give the people of Israel their kingdom again?”

⁷ Jesus said to them, “The Father is the only one who has the authority to decide dates and times. They are not for you to know. ⁸ But the Holy Spirit will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me—in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.”

⁹ After Jesus said this, he was lifted up into the sky. While they were watching, he went into a cloud, and they could not see him. ¹⁰ They were staring into the sky where he had gone. Suddenly two men wearing white clothes were standing beside them. ¹¹ They said, “Men from Galilee, why are you standing here looking into the sky? You saw Jesus carried away from you into heaven. He will come back in the same way you saw him go.”

A New Apostle Is Chosen

¹² Then the apostles went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. This mountain is about a half mile^[a] from Jerusalem. ¹³ When they entered the city, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. These are the ones who were there: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon, the Zealot, and Judas (the son of James).

¹⁴ The apostles were all together. They were constantly praying with the same purpose. Some women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers were there with the apostles.

¹⁵ After a few days there was a meeting of the believers. There were about 120 of them. Peter stood up and said, ^16-17 “Brothers and sisters, in the Scriptures the Holy Spirit said through David that something must happen. He was talking about Judas, one of our own group. Judas served together with us. The Spirit said that Judas would lead men to arrest Jesus.”

¹⁸ (Judas was paid money for doing this. His money was used to buy him a field. But he fell on his head, his body broke open, and all his intestines poured out. ¹⁹ And all the people of Jerusalem learned about this. That is why they named that field Akeldama, which in their language means “field of blood.”)

²⁰ Peter said, “In the book of Psalms, this is written about Judas:

And it is also written:

^21-22 “So now another man must join us and be a witness of Jesus’ resurrection. He must be one of those men who were part of our group during all the time the Lord Jesus was with us. He must have been with us from the time John was baptizing people until the day when Jesus was carried up from us into heaven.”

²³ They put two men before the group. One was Joseph Barsabbas. He was also called Justus. The other man was Matthias. ^24-25 They prayed, “Lord, you know the minds of all people. Show us which one of these two men you choose to do this work. Judas turned away from it and went where he belongs. Lord, show us which man should take his place as an apostle!” ²⁶ Then they used lots to choose one of the two men. The lots showed that Matthias was the one the Lord wanted. So he became an apostle with the other eleven.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a noise came from heaven. It sounded like a strong wind blowing. This noise filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw something that looked like flames of fire. The flames were separated and stood over each person there. ⁴ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages. The Holy Spirit was giving them the power to do this.

⁵ There were some godly Jews in Jerusalem at this time. They were from every country in the world. ⁶ A large crowd came together because they heard the noise. They were surprised because, as the apostles were speaking, everyone heard in their own language.

⁷ They were all amazed at this. They did not understand how the apostles could do this. They said, “Look! These men we hear speaking are all from Galilee.^{[b] 8} But we hear them in our own languages. How is this possible? We are from all these different places: ⁹ Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the areas of Libya near the city of Cyrene, Rome, ¹¹ Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others have changed their religion to worship God like Jews. We are from these different countries, but we can hear these men in our own languages! We can all understand the great things they are saying about God.”

¹² The people were all amazed and confused. They asked each other, “What is happening?” ¹³ But others were laughing at the apostles, saying they were drunk from too much wine.

Peter Speaks to the People

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles. He spoke loudly so that all the people could hear. He said, “My Jewish brothers and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me. I will tell you something you need to know. Listen carefully. ¹⁵ These men are not drunk as you think; it’s only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶ But Joel the prophet wrote about what you see happening here today. This is what he wrote:

²² “My fellow Israelites, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you. He proved it by the miracles, wonders, and miraculous signs he did through Jesus. You all saw these things, so you know this is true. ²³ Jesus was handed over to you, and you killed him. With the help of evil men, you nailed him to a cross. But God knew all this would happen. It was his plan—a plan he made long ago. ²⁴ Jesus suffered the pain of death, but God made him free. He raised him from death. There was no way for death to hold him. ²⁵ David said this about him:

²⁹ “My brothers, I can tell you for sure about David, our great ancestor. He died, was buried, and his tomb is still here with us today. ³⁰ He was a prophet and knew something that God had said. God had promised David that someone from his own family would sit on David’s throne as king.^{[e] 31} David knew this before it happened. That is why he said this about that future king:

David was talking about the Messiah rising from death. ³² So Jesus is the one God raised from death. We are all witnesses of this. We saw him. ³³ Jesus was lifted up to heaven. Now he is with God, at God’s right side. The Father has given the Holy Spirit to him, as he promised. So Jesus has now poured out that Spirit. This is what you see and hear. ³⁴ David was not the one who was lifted up to heaven. David himself said,

³⁶ “So, all the people of Israel should know this for certain: God has made Jesus to be Lord and Messiah. He is the man you nailed to the cross!”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they felt very, very sorry. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸ Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”

⁴⁰ Peter warned them with many other words; he begged them, “Save yourselves from the evil of the people who live now!” ⁴¹ Then those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. On that day about 3000 people were added to the group of believers.

The Believers Share

⁴² The believers spent their time listening to the teaching of the apostles. They shared everything with each other. They ate^[g] together and prayed together. ⁴³ Many wonders and miraculous signs were happening through the apostles, and everyone felt great respect for God. ⁴⁴ All the believers stayed together and shared everything. ⁴⁵ They sold their land and the things they owned. Then they divided the money and gave it to those who needed it. ⁴⁶ The believers shared a common purpose, and every day they spent much of their time together in the Temple area. They also ate together in their homes. They were happy to share their food and ate with joyful hearts. ⁴⁷ The believers praised God and were respected by all the people. More and more people were being saved every day, and the Lord was adding them to their group.

Peter Heals a Crippled Man

3 One day Peter and John went to the Temple area. It was three o’clock in the afternoon, which was the time for the daily Temple prayer service. ² As they were entering the Temple area, a man was there who had been crippled all his life. He was being carried by some friends who brought him to the Temple every day. They put him by one of the gates outside the Temple. It was called Beautiful Gate. There he begged for money from the people going to the Temple. ³ That day he saw Peter and John going into the Temple area. He asked them for money.

⁴ Peter and John looked at the crippled man and said, “Look at us!” ⁵ He looked at them; he thought they would give him some money. ⁶ But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you. By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth—stand up and walk!”

⁷ Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately his feet and legs became strong. ⁸ He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. He went into the Temple area with them. He was walking and jumping and praising God. ^9-10 All the people recognized him. They knew he was the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate to beg for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God. They were amazed. They did not understand how this could happen.

Peter Speaks to the People

¹¹ The man was holding on to Peter and John. All the people were amazed. They ran to Peter and John at Solomon’s Porch.

¹² When Peter saw this, he said to the people, “My Jewish brothers, why are you surprised at this? You are looking at us as if it was our power that made this man walk. Do you think this was done because we are good? ¹³ No, God did it! He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is the God of all our fathers. He gave glory to Jesus, his special servant. But you handed him over to be killed. Pilate decided to let him go free. But you told Pilate you did not want him. ¹⁴ Jesus was holy and good, but you said you did not want him. You told Pilate to give you a murderer^[h] instead of Jesus. ¹⁵ And so you killed the one who gives life! But God raised him from death. We are witnesses of this—we saw it with our own eyes.

¹⁶ “This crippled man was healed because we trusted in Jesus. It was Jesus’ power that made him well. You can see this man, and you know him. He was made completely well because of faith in Jesus. You all saw it happen!

¹⁷ “My brothers, I know that what you did to Jesus was done because you did not understand what you were doing. And your leaders did not understand any more than you did. ¹⁸ But God said these things would happen. Through the prophets he said that his Messiah would suffer and die. I have told you how God made this happen. ¹⁹ So you must change your hearts and lives. Come back to God, and he will forgive your sins. ²⁰ Then the Lord will give you times of spiritual rest. He will send you Jesus, the one he chose to be the Messiah.

²¹ “But Jesus must stay in heaven until the time when all things will be made right again. God told about this time when he spoke long ago through his holy prophets. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will give you a prophet. That prophet will come from among your own people. He will be like me. You must obey everything he tells you. ²³ And anyone who refuses to obey that prophet will die, separated from God’s people.’^[i]

²⁴ “Samuel, and all the other prophets who spoke for God after Samuel, said that this time would come. ²⁵ And what those prophets talked about is for you, their descendants. You have received the agreement that God made with your fathers. God said to your father Abraham, ‘Every nation on earth will be blessed through your descendants.’^{[j] 26} God has sent his special servant Jesus. He sent him to you first. He sent him to bless you by causing each of you to turn away from your evil ways.”

The Apostles and the Jewish High Council

4 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, some Jewish leaders came up to them. There were some priests, the captain of the soldiers that guarded the Temple, and some Sadducees. ² They were upset because of what Peter and John were teaching the people. By telling people about Jesus, the apostles were teaching that people will rise from death. ³ The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. It was already night, so they kept them in jail until the next day. ⁴ But many of the people who heard the apostles believed what they said. There were now about 5000 men in the group of believers.

⁵ The next day the Jewish rulers, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. ⁶ Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander were there. Everyone from the high priest’s family was there. ⁷ They made Peter and John stand before all the people. They asked them over and over, “How did you make this crippled man well? What power did you use? By whose authority did you do this?”

⁸ Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and you older leaders, ⁹ are you questioning us today about what we did to help this crippled man? Are you asking us what made him well? ¹⁰ We want all of you and all the people of Israel to know that this man was made well by the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth. You nailed Jesus to a cross, but God raised him from death. This man was crippled, but he is now well. He is able to stand here before you because of the power of Jesus! ¹¹ Jesus is

¹² Jesus is the only one who can save people. His name is the only power in the world that has been given to save anyone. We must be saved through him!”

¹³ The Jewish leaders understood that Peter and John had no special training or education. But they also saw that they were not afraid to speak. So the leaders were amazed. They also realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ They saw the crippled man standing there beside the apostles. They saw that he was healed, so they could say nothing against the apostles.

¹⁵ The Jewish leaders told them to leave the council meeting. Then the leaders talked to each other about what they should do. ¹⁶ They said, “What shall we do with these men? Everyone in Jerusalem knows about the miracle they did as a sign from God. It’s too obvious. We can’t say it didn’t happen. ¹⁷ But we must make them afraid to talk to anyone again using that name.^[l] Then this problem will not spread among the people.”

¹⁸ So the Jewish leaders called Peter and John in again. They told the apostles not to say anything or to teach anything in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “What do you think is right? What would God want? Should we obey you or God? ²⁰ We cannot be quiet. We must tell people about what we have seen and heard.”

^21-22 The Jewish leaders could not find a way to punish the apostles, because all the people were praising God for what had been done. This miracle was a sign from God. The man who was healed was more than 40 years old. So the Jewish leaders warned the apostles again and let them go free.

Peter and John Return to the Believers

²³ Peter and John left the meeting of Jewish leaders and went to their own group. They told the group everything that the leading priests and the older Jewish leaders had said to them. ²⁴ When the believers heard this, they all prayed to God with one purpose. They said, “Master, you are the one who made the sky, the earth, the sea, and everything in the world. ²⁵ Our ancestor David was your servant. With the help of the Holy Spirit he wrote these words:

²⁷ That’s what actually happened when Herod, Pontius Pilate, the other nations, and the people of Israel all came together against Jesus here in Jerusalem. He is your holy Servant, the one you made to be the Messiah. ²⁸ These people who came together against Jesus made your plan happen. It was done because of your power and your will. ²⁹ And now, Lord, listen to what they are saying. They are trying to make us afraid. We are your servants. Help us to say what you want us to say without fear. ³⁰ Help us to be brave by showing us your power. Make sick people well. Cause miraculous signs and wonders to happen by the authority^[m] of Jesus, your holy servant.”

³¹ After the believers prayed, the place where they were meeting shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they continued to speak God’s message without fear.

The Believers Share

³² The whole group of believers was united in their thinking and in what they wanted. None of them said that the things they had were their own. Instead, they shared everything. ³³ With great power the apostles were making it known to everyone that the Lord Jesus was raised from death. And God blessed all the believers very much. ³⁴ None of them could say they needed anything. Everyone who owned fields or houses sold them. They brought the money they got ³⁵ and gave it to the apostles. Then everyone was given whatever they needed.

³⁶ One of the believers was named Joseph. The apostles called him Barnabas, a name that means “one who encourages others.” He was a Levite born in Cyprus. ³⁷ Joseph sold a field he owned. He brought the money and gave it to the apostles.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 There was a man named Ananias. His wife’s name was Sapphira. Ananias sold some land he had, ² but he gave only part of the money to the apostles. He secretly kept some of the money for himself. His wife knew this, and she agreed with it.

³ Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill your mind with such an idea? You kept part of the money for yourself and lied about it to the Holy Spirit! ⁴ Before you sold the field, it belonged to you, right? And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. How could you even think of doing such a thing? You lied to God, not to us!”

^5-6 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came and wrapped his body. They carried it out and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in. Sapphira did not know about what had happened to her husband. ⁸ Peter said to her, “Tell me how much money you got for your field. Was it this much?”

Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was all we got for the field.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! Do you hear those footsteps? The men who buried your husband are at the door. They will carry you out in the same way.” ¹⁰ At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ The whole church and all the other people who heard about this were filled with fear.

Proofs From God

¹² The apostles were given the power to do many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. They were together in Solomon’s Porch, and they all had the same purpose. ¹³ None of the other people dared to stand with the apostles, but everyone was saying wonderful things about them. ¹⁴ More and more people believed in the Lord, and many men and women were added to the group of believers. ¹⁵ So the people brought those who were sick into the streets and put them on little beds and mats. They were hoping that Peter’s shadow might fall on them as he walked by. ¹⁶ People came from all the towns around Jerusalem. They brought those who were sick or troubled by evil spirits. All of them were healed.

The Apostles Are Arrested

¹⁷ The high priest and all his friends, a group called the Sadducees, became very jealous. ¹⁸ They grabbed the apostles and put them in jail. ¹⁹ But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. The angel led the apostles outside and said, ²⁰ “Go and stand in the Temple area. Tell the people everything about this new life.” ²¹ When the apostles heard this, they did what they were told. They went into the Temple area about sunrise and began to teach the people.

The high priest and his friends came together and called a meeting of the high council and all the older Jewish leaders. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles to them. ²² When the men went to the jail, they could not find the apostles there. So they went back and told the Jewish leaders about this. ²³ They said, “The jail was closed and locked. The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, the jail was empty!” ²⁴ The captain of the Temple guards and the leading priests heard this. They were confused and wondered what it all meant.

²⁵ Then another man came and told them, “Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple area teaching the people.” ²⁶ The captain and his men went out and brought the apostles back. But the soldiers did not use force, because they were afraid of the people. They were afraid the people would stone them to death.

²⁷ The soldiers brought the apostles in and made them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them. ²⁸ He said, “We told you never again to teach using that name.^[n] But look at what you have done! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are trying to blame us for his death.”

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not you! ³⁰ You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross. But God, the same God our fathers had, raised Jesus up from death. ³¹ Jesus is the one God honored by giving him a place at his right side. He made him our Leader and Savior. God did this to give all the people of Israel the opportunity to change and turn to God to have their sins forgiven. ³² We saw all these things happen, and we can say that they are true. The Holy Spirit also shows that these things are true. God has given this Spirit to all those who obey him.”

³³ When the council members heard this, they became very angry. They began to plan a way to kill the apostles. ³⁴ But one member of the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, stood up. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He told the men to make the apostles leave the meeting for a few minutes. ³⁵ Then he said to them, “Men of Israel, be careful of what you are planning to do to these men. ³⁶ Remember when Theudas appeared? He said he was an important man, and about 400 men joined him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were scattered and ran away. They were not able to do anything. ³⁷ Later, during the time of the census, a man named Judas came from Galilee. Many people joined his group, but he was also killed, and all his followers were scattered. ³⁸ And so now I tell you, stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If their plan is something they thought up, it will fail. ³⁹ But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!”

The Jewish leaders agreed with what Gamaliel said. ⁴⁰ They called the apostles in again. They beat them and told them not to speak anymore using the name of Jesus. Then they let them go free. ⁴¹ The apostles left the council meeting. They were happy because they were given the honor of suffering dishonor for Jesus. ⁴² The apostles did not stop teaching the people. They continued to tell the Good News—that Jesus is the Messiah. They did this every day in the Temple area and in people’s homes.

Seven Men Chosen for a Special Work

6 More and more people were becoming followers of Jesus. But during this same time, the Greek-speaking followers began to complain against the other Jewish followers. They said that their widows were not getting their share of what the followers received every day. ² The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together.

The apostles said to them, “It would not be right for us to give up our work of teaching God’s word in order to be in charge of getting food to people. ³ So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men who have a good reputation. They must be full of wisdom and the Spirit. We will give them this work to do. ⁴ Then we can use all our time to pray and to teach the word of God.”

⁵ The whole group liked the idea. So they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip,^[o] Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a man from Antioch who had become a Jew). ⁶ Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.^[p]

⁷ The word of God was reaching more and more people. The group of followers in Jerusalem became larger and larger. Even a big group of Jewish priests believed and obeyed.

Some Jews Against Stephen

⁸ Stephen received a great blessing. God gave him power to do great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. ⁹ But some of the Jews there were from the synagogue of Free Men, as it was called. The group included Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They started arguing with Stephen. ¹⁰ But the Spirit was helping him speak with wisdom. His words were so strong that these Jews could not argue with him.

¹¹ So they told some men to say, “We heard Stephen say bad things against Moses and against God!” ¹² By doing this, these Jews upset the people, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law. They became so angry that they came and grabbed Stephen and took him to a meeting of the high council.

¹³ The Jews brought some men into the meeting to tell lies about Stephen. These men said, “This man is always saying things against this holy place and against the Law of Moses. ¹⁴ We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change what Moses told us to do.” ¹⁵ Everyone there in the council meeting was staring at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.

Stephen’s Speech

7 The high priest said to Stephen, “Is all this true?” ² Stephen answered, “My Jewish fathers and brothers, listen to me. Our great and glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, when he was in Mesopotamia. This was before he lived in Haran. ³ God said to him, ‘Leave your country and your people, and go to the country I will show you.’^[q]

⁴ “So Abraham left the country of Chaldea.^[r] He went to live in Haran. After his father died, God sent him to this place, where you live now. ⁵ But God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that in the future he would give Abraham this land for himself and for his children. This was before Abraham had any children.

⁶ “This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will live in another country. They will be strangers. The people there will make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. ⁷ But I will punish the nation that made them slaves.’^[s] And God also said, ‘After those things happen, your people will come out of that country. Then they will worship me here in this place.’^[t]

⁸ “God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign for this agreement was circumcision. And so when Abraham had a son, he circumcised him when he was eight days old. His son’s name was Isaac. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob. And Jacob did the same for his sons, who became the twelve great ancestors of our people.

⁹ “These ancestors of ours became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him ¹⁰ and saved him from all his troubles. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt then. He liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. Pharaoh gave Joseph the job of being a governor of Egypt. He even let him rule over all the people in Pharaoh’s house. ¹¹ But all the land of Egypt and of Canaan became dry. It became so dry that food could not grow, and the people suffered very much. Our people could not find anything to eat.

¹² “But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he sent our people there. This was their first trip to Egypt. ¹³ Then they went there a second time. This time Joseph told his brothers who he was. And Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. ¹⁴ Then Joseph sent some men to tell Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt. He also invited all his relatives, a total of 75 people. ¹⁵ So Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our other ancestors lived there until they died. ¹⁶ Later, their bodies were moved to Shechem, where they were put in a tomb. It was the same tomb that Abraham had bought in Shechem from the sons of Hamor. He paid them with silver.

¹⁷ “The number of our people in Egypt grew. There were more and more of our people there. The promise that God made to Abraham was soon to come true. ¹⁸ Then a different king began to rule Egypt, one who knew nothing about Joseph. ¹⁹ This king tricked our people. He treated them badly, making them leave their children outside to die.

²⁰ “This was the time when Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him at home. ²¹ When they put him outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him. She raised him as her own son. ²² The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew. He was powerful in all he said and did.

²³ “When Moses was about 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the people of Israel. ²⁴ He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he defended him. Moses hit the Egyptian to pay him back for hurting the man. He hit him so hard that it killed him. ²⁵ Moses thought that his people would understand that God was using him to save them. But they did not understand.

²⁶ “The next day, Moses saw two of his own people fighting. He tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers! Why are you trying to hurt each other?’ ²⁷ The man who was hurting the other one pushed Moses away and said to him, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? ²⁸ Will you kill me just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’^{[u] 29} When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt. He went to live in the land of Midian, where he was a stranger. During the time he lived there, he had two sons.

³⁰ “Forty years later Moses was in the desert near Mount Sinai. An angel appeared to him in the flame of a burning bush. ³¹ When Moses saw this, he was amazed. He went near to look closer at it. He heard a voice; it was the Lord’s. ³² The Lord said, ‘I am the same God your ancestors had—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^[v] Moses began to shake with fear. He was afraid to look at the bush.

³³ “The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because the place where you are now standing is holy ground. ³⁴ I have seen my people suffer much in Egypt. I have heard my people crying and have come down to save them. Come now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’^[w]

³⁵ “This Moses was the one his people said they did not want. They said, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge?’^[x] But he is the one God sent to be a ruler and savior. God sent him with the help of an angel, the one Moses saw in the burning bush. ³⁶ So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for 40 years.

³⁷ “This is the same Moses who said these words to the people of Israel: ‘God will give you a prophet. That prophet will come from among your own people. He will be like me.’^{[y] 38} This same Moses was with the gathering of God’s people in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received life-giving words from God to give to us.

³⁹ “But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him. They wanted to go back to Egypt again. ⁴⁰ They said to Aaron, ‘Moses led us out of the country of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make some gods to go before us and lead us.’^{[z] 41} So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it. They were very happy with what they had made with their own hands. ⁴² But God turned against them and let them continue worshiping the army of false gods in the sky. This is what God says in the book that contains what the prophets wrote:

⁴⁴ “The Holy Tent^[aa] was with our ancestors in the desert. God told Moses how to make this tent. He made it like the plan that God showed him. ⁴⁵ Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in and God made the other people go out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same tent. Our people received this tent from their fathers, and our people kept it until the time of David. ⁴⁶ God was very pleased with David. He asked God to let him build a Temple for the people of Jacob.^{[ab] 47} But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.

⁴⁸ “But the Most High God does not live in houses built by human hands. This is what the prophet^[ac] writes:

⁵¹ Then Stephen said, “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You refuse to give your hearts to God or even listen to him. You are always against what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. That’s how your ancestors were, and you are just like them! ⁵² They persecuted every prophet who ever lived. They even killed those who long ago said that the Righteous One would come. And now you have turned against that Righteous One and killed him. ⁵³ You are the people who received God’s law, which he gave you through his angels. But you don’t obey it!”

Stephen Is Killed

⁵⁴ When those in the council meeting heard this, they became very angry. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side. ⁵⁶ Stephen said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”

⁵⁷ Everyone there started shouting loudly, covering their ears with their hands. Together they all ran at Stephen. ⁵⁸ They took him out of the city and began throwing stones at him. The men who told lies against Stephen gave their coats to a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ As they were throwing the stones at him, Stephen was praying. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ He fell on his knees and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for this sin!” These were his last words before he died.