Acts 7
Lexham English Bible
Stephen’s Defense
7 And the high priest said, “Is it so concerning these things?” 2 So he said, “Men—brothers and fathers—listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he[a] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and[b] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. 5 And he did not give him an inheritance in it—not even a footstep[c]—and he promised to give it[d] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, although he did not have[e][f] a child. 6 But God spoke like this: ‘His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat them[g] four hundred years, 7 and the nation that[h] they will serve as slaves, I will judge,’ God said, ‘and after these things they will come out[i] and will worship me in this place.’[j] 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did so with[k] Jacob, and Jacob did so with[l] the twelve patriarchs. 9 And the patriarchs, because they[m] were jealous of Joseph, sold him[n] into Egypt. And God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all[o] his household. 11 And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. 12 So when[p] Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And on the second visit[q] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. 14 So Joseph sent and[r] summoned his father Jacob and all his[s] relatives, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. 16 And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 “But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 19 This man deceitfully took advantage of our[t] people and[u] mistreated our ancestors, causing them to abandon their infants[v] so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. He[w] was brought up for three months in his[x] father’s house, 21 and when[y] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and brought him up as her own son.[z] 22 And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds.
23 “But when he was forty years old,[aa] it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he[ab] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended him[ac] and avenged[ad] the one who had been oppressed by[ae] striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he thought his[af] brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day, he made an appearance to them while they[ag] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile[ah] them in peace, saying, ‘Men and brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?’ 27 But the one who was doing wrong to his[ai] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 You do not want to do away with me the same way[aj] you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’[ak] 29 And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 “And when[al] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. 31 And when[am] Moses saw it,[an] he was astonished at the sight, and when[ao] he approached to look at it,[ap] the voice of the Lord came: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!’[aq] So Moses began trembling and[ar] did not dare to look at it.[as] 33 And the Lord said to him, ‘Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen[at] the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’[au] 35 This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?’[av]—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer with the help[aw] of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
37 “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’[ax] 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who with our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 39 to whom our fathers were not willing to become obedient, but rejected him[ay] and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go on before us! For this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him!’[az] 41 And they manufactured a calf in those days, and offered up a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing[ba] in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets:
‘You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me
for forty years in the wilderness, did you,[bb] house of Israel?
43 And you took along the tabernacle[bc] of Moloch
and the star of the god[bd] Rephan,
the images that you made, to worship them,
and I will deport you beyond Babylon!’[be]
44 The tabernacle of the testimony belonged[bf] to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed him[bg] to make it according to the design that he had seen, 45 and which, after[bh] receiving it[bi] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua when they dispossessed the[bj] nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.[bk] 47 But Solomon built a house for him. 48 But the Most High does not live in houses[bl] made by human hands, just as the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is my throne
and earth is the footstool for my feet.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’[bm]
51 “You stiff-necked people and uncircumcised in hearts and in your[bn] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so also do you! 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, 53 you who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed it!”
Stephen’s Martyrdom
54 Now when they[bo] heard these things, they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed their[bp] teeth at him. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and[bq] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 But crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one purpose. 58 And after they[br] had driven him[bs] out of the city, they began to stone[bt] him,[bu] and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And they kept on stoning Stephen as he[bv] was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 And falling to his[bw] knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” And after he[bx] said this, he fell asleep.[by]
Footnotes
- Acts 7:2 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 7:5 Literally “a step of a foot”
- Acts 7:5 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:5 Literally “not being to him”
- Acts 7:5 Here “although” is supplied in the translation as a component of the participle (“was”) which is understood as concessive
- Acts 7:6 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:7 Literally “to which”
- Acts 7:7 Verses 6–7 are a quotation from Gen 15:13–14
- Acts 7:7 The final phrase is an allusion to Exod 3:12
- Acts 7:8 Here the words “did so with” are not in the Greek text but are implied; in view of the “covenant of circumcision” mentioned earlier in the verse, it is probable that circumcision and not just fatherhood is involved
- Acts 7:8 Here the words “did so with” are not in the Greek text but are implied; see the note on the same phrase earlier in this verse
- Acts 7:9 Here “because” is supplied as a component of the participle (“were jealous of”) which is understood as causal
- Acts 7:9 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:10 Some manuscripts have “over all”
- Acts 7:12 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:13 The word “visit” is not in the Greek text but is implied
- Acts 7:14 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sent”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 7:14 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:19 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:19 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“deceitfully took advantage of”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 7:19 Literally “making their infants be abandoned”
- Acts 7:20 Literally “who”
- Acts 7:20 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:21 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was abandoned”)
- Acts 7:21 Literally “for a son to herself”
- Acts 7:23 Literally “a period of time of forty years was fulfilled for him”
- Acts 7:24 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:24 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:24 Literally “produced vengeance for”
- Acts 7:24 Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“striking down”) which is understood as means
- Acts 7:25 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:26 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“were fighting”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:26 Here the imperfect verb has been translated as conative (“was attempting to reconcile”)
- Acts 7:27 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:28 Literally “in the manner in which”
- Acts 7:28 A quotation from Exod 2:14; the negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated by “do you”
- Acts 7:30 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“had been completed”)
- Acts 7:31 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:31 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:31 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“approached”)
- Acts 7:31 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:32 A quotation from Exod 3:6
- Acts 7:32 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“began”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 7:32 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:34 Literally “seeing I have seen”
- Acts 7:34 A quotation from Exod 3:5, 7–8, 10
- Acts 7:35 A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see v. 27 above)
- Acts 7:35 Literally “hand”
- Acts 7:37 A quotation from Deut 18:15
- Acts 7:39 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:40 A quotation from Exod 32:1, 23
- Acts 7:41 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began rejoicing”)
- Acts 7:42 *The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated by “did you”
- Acts 7:43 Or “tent”
- Acts 7:43 Some manuscripts have “of your god”
- Acts 7:43 A quotation from Amos 5:25–27
- Acts 7:44 Literally “was”
- Acts 7:44 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:45 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“receiving”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:45 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:45 Literally “in the possession of the”
- Acts 7:46 Some manuscripts have “for the house of Jacob”
- Acts 7:48 Or “temples made by human hands”; either word (“houses” or “temples”) is understood here
- Acts 7:50 A quotation from Isa 66:1–2
- Acts 7:51 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:54 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:54 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:55 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“looked intently”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Acts 7:58 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had driven”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:58 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:58 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began stoning”)
- Acts 7:58 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Acts 7:59 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was calling out”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:60 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Acts 7:60 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“said”) which is understood as temporal
- Acts 7:60 Or “he passed away”
Acts 7
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Stephen’s Speech to the Council
7 Then the high priest asked him, ‘Are these things so?’ 2 And Stephen replied:
‘Brothers[a] and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.” 4 Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living. 5 He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. 6 And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and maltreat them for four hundred years. 7 “But I will judge the nation that they serve,” said God, “and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.” 8 Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham[b] became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9 ‘The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favour and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. 13 On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all; 15 so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors, 16 and their bodies[c] were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 ‘But as the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied 18 until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19 He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die. 20 At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father’s house; 21 and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.
23 ‘When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites.[d] 24 When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand. 26 The next day he came to some of them as they were quarrelling and tried to reconcile them, saying, “Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?” 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbour pushed Moses[e] aside, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” 29 When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.
30 ‘Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 “I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.”
35 ‘It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, “God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people[f] as he raised me up.” 38 He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, “Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.” 41 At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and revelled in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
“Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices
for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 No; you took along the tent of Moloch,
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made to worship;
so I will remove you beyond Babylon.”
44 ‘Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God[g] directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David, 46 who found favour with God and asked that he might find a dwelling-place for the house of Jacob.[h] 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands;[i] as the prophet says,
49 “Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?”
51 ‘You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are for ever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53 You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.’
The Stoning of Stephen
54 When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.[j] 55 But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ 57 But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. 58 Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ 60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.[k]
Footnotes
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New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.