Acts 7:49-8:2
New American Standard Bible
49 ‘(A)Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?
50 (B)Was it not My hand that made all these things?’
51 “You men who are (C)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 (D)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (E)the Righteous One, and (F)you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; 53 you who received the Law as (G)ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
Stephen Put to Death
54 Now when they heard this, they were (H)infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But he, being (I)full of the Holy Spirit, (J)looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (K)at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the (L)heavens opened and (M)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one [a]mind. 58 When they had (N)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and (O)the witnesses (P)laid aside their cloaks at the feet of (Q)a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (R)called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he (S)fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (T)do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he [b](U)fell asleep.
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 (V)Now Saul approved of putting [c]Stephen to death.
And on that day a great persecution [d]began against (W)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all (X)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and (Y)Samaria, except for the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him.
Acts 7:49-8:2
Complete Jewish Bible
49 ‘Heaven is my throne,’ says Adonai,
‘and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house could you build for me?
What kind of place could you devise for my rest?
50 Didn’t I myself make all these things?’[a]
51 “Stiffnecked people,[b] with uncircumcised hearts and ears![c] You continually oppose the Ruach HaKodesh![d] You do the same things your fathers did! 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who told in advance about the coming of the Tzaddik, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers! — 53 you! — who receive the Torah as having been delivered by angels — but do not keep it!”
54 On hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts and ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Ruach HaKodesh, looked up to heaven and saw God’s Sh’khinah, with Yeshua standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look!” he exclaimed, “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”[e]
57 At this, they began yelling at the top of their voices, so that they wouldn’t have to hear him; and with one accord, they rushed at him, 58 threw him outside the city and began stoning him. And the witnesses laid down their coats at the feet of a young man named Sha’ul.
59 As they were stoning him, Stephen called out to God, “Lord Yeshua! Receive my spirit!” 60 Then he kneeled down and shouted out, “Lord! Don’t hold this sin against them!” With that, he died;
8 and Sha’ul gave his approval to his murder.
Starting with that day, there arose intense persecution against the Messianic Community in Yerushalayim; all but the emissaries were scattered throughout the regions of Y’hudah and Shomron. 2 Some godly men buried Stephen and mourned him deeply.
Acts 7:49-8:2
Christian Standard Bible
49 Heaven is my throne,
and the earth my footstool.
What sort of house will you build for me?
says the Lord,
or what will be my resting place?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?[a](A)
Resisting the Holy Spirit
51 “You stiff-necked(B) people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!(C) You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?(D) They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers(E) you have now become. 53 You received the law under the direction of angels(F) and yet have not kept it.”
The First Christian Martyr
54 When they heard these things, they were enraged[b] and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.(G) 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (H)
57 They yelled at the top of their voices, covered their ears, and together rushed against him. 58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone(I) him. And the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.(J) 59 While they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” (K) 60 He knelt down and cried out with a loud voice,(L) “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after saying this, he fell asleep.(M)
Saul the Persecutor
8 Saul agreed with putting him to death.
On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.(N) 2 Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.
Acts 7:49-8:2
New Living Translation
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?’[a]
51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen[b] 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.[c] 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.[d]
59 As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died.
8 Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.
Persecution Scatters the Believers
A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2 (Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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.
