²⁰ And when the blood of your martyr^[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’^(A)

8 And Saul^(A) approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered^(B) throughout Judea and Samaria.^(C)

⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city^(A) and began to stone him.^(B) Meanwhile, the witnesses^(C) laid their coats^(D) at the feet of a young man named Saul.^(E)

³² Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,^(A) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve^(B) of those who practice them.

⁶ I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people,^(A) the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished.

¹⁰ And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people^(A) in prison,^(B) and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.^(C)

⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.^(A)