Acts 7:1-53
Legacy Standard Bible
Stephen’s Defense
7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”
2 And he said, “Hear me, (A)brothers and fathers! (B)The God of glory (C)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in [a]Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘(D)Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ 4 (E)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in [b]Haran. (F)From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and (G)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his seed after him, even when he had no child. 6 But (H)God spoke in this way, that his seed would be sojourners in a foreign land, and that they would [c]be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 7 ‘And I Myself will judge the nation to which they will be enslaved,’ said God, ‘and (I)after that they will come out and [d]serve Me in this place.’ 8 And He (J)gave him [e]the covenant of circumcision; and so (K)Abraham was the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and (L)Isaac was the father of Jacob, and (M)Jacob of the twelve (N)patriarchs.
9 “And the patriarchs, (O)becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and (P)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt and all his household.
11 “Now (Q)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers [f]could find no food. 12 But (R)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 And on the second visit (S)Joseph [g]made himself known to his brothers, and (T)Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. 14 Then (U)Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, (V)seventy-five [h](W)persons in all. 15 And (X)Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. 16 And from there they were removed to [i](Y)Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of [j]Hamor in [k]Shechem.
17 “But as the (Z)time of the promise was drawing near which God had assured to Abraham, (AA)the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until (AB)another king arose over Egypt who did not know about Joseph. 19 It was he who (AC)deceitfully took advantage of our family and mistreated our fathers to [l](AD)set their infants outside so that they would not survive. 20 It was at this time that (AE)Moses was born, and he was lovely [m]in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home. 21 And after he had been set outside, (AF)Pharaoh’s daughter [n]took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 And Moses was educated in all (AG)the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and deeds. 23 But when he was approaching the age of forty, (AH)it entered his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took justice for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25 And he supposed that his brothers understood that God was granting them salvation [o]through him, but they did not understand. 26 (AI)On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you treating one another unjustly?’ 27 But the one who was treating his neighbor unjustly pushed him away, saying, ‘(AJ)Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 (AK)Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this remark, (AL)Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of [p]Midian, where he (AM)was the father of two sons.
30 “And after forty years had passed, (AN)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 marveling at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the [q]Lord: 32 ‘(AO)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and would not dare to look. 33 (AP)But the [r]Lord said to him, ‘(AQ)Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 (AR)I have surely seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; [s](AS)come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses whom they (AT)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God [t]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the [u]help of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 (AU)This man led them out, doing (AV)wonders and [v]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the (AW)wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘(AX)God will raise up for you a prophet [w]like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who, in (AY)the [x]congregation in the wilderness, was with (AZ)the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai and with our fathers; the one who received (BA)living (BB)oracles to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but (BC)rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40 (BD)saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 [y]At that time (BE)they made a [z]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in (BF)the works of their hands. 42 But God (BG)turned away and delivered them up to [aa]serve the [ab]host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘(BH)Did you present Me with slain beasts and sacrifices (BI)forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 (BJ)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god [ac]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’
44 “Our fathers had (BK)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He, who spoke to Moses, directed him to make it (BL)according to the pattern which he had seen. 45 And having received it in their turn, our fathers (BM)brought it in with [ad]Joshua when they dispossessed the [ae]nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David. 46 (BN)David found favor in the sight of God, and (BO)asked that he might find a dwelling place for the [af]God of Jacob. 47 But (BP)Solomon built a house for Him. 48 However, (BQ)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says:
49 ‘(BR)Heaven is My throne,
And 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 (BS)Was it not My hand which made all these things?’
51 “You men—(BT)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 (BU)And which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (BV)the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers (BW)you have now become; 53 you who received the Law as (BX)ordained by angels, and yet did not observe it.”
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- Acts 7:2 Gr Charran
- Acts 7:4 Gr Charran
- Acts 7:6 Lit enslave them and mistreat them
- Acts 7:7 Or worship
- Acts 7:8 Or a
- Acts 7:11 Lit were not finding
- Acts 7:13 Or was made known
- Acts 7:14 Lit souls
- Acts 7:16 Gr Sychem
- Acts 7:16 Gr Emmor
- Acts 7:16 Gr Sychem
- Acts 7:19 Or put out to die
- Acts 7:20 Lit to God
- Acts 7:21 Or adopted him
- Acts 7:25 Lit through his hand
- Acts 7:29 Gr Madiam
- Acts 7:31 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ex 3:4
- Acts 7:33 In OT, Yahweh, cf. Ex 3:4
- Acts 7:34 Lit and now come!
- Acts 7:35 Lit has sent
- Acts 7:35 Lit hand
- Acts 7:36 Or attesting miracles
- Acts 7:37 Or as He raised up me
- Acts 7:38 Gr ekklesia
- Acts 7:41 Lit in those days
- Acts 7:41 Or young bull
- Acts 7:42 Or worship
- Acts 7:42 Heavenly bodies
- Acts 7:43 Other mss spell it: Romphan, or Rempham, or Raiphan, or Rephan
- Acts 7:45 Gr Jesus
- Acts 7:45 Or Gentiles
- Acts 7:46 As in LXX; the earliest mss house
Acts 7:1-53
Common English Bible
7 The high priest asked, “Are these accusations true?”
2 Stephen responded, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran. 3 God told him, ‘Leave your homeland and kin, and go to the land that I will show you.’[a] 4 So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After Abraham’s father died, God had him resettle in this land where you now live. 5 God didn’t give him an inheritance here, not even a square foot of land. However, God did promise to give the land as his possession to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham had no child. 6 God put it this way: His descendants will be strangers in a land that belongs to others, who will enslave them and abuse them for four hundred years.[b] 7 And I will condemn the nation they serve as slaves, God said, and afterward they will leave[c] that land and serve me in this place. 8 God gave him the covenant confirmed through circumcision. Accordingly, eight days after Isaac’s birth, Abraham circumcised him. Isaac did the same with Jacob, and Jacob with the twelve patriarchs.
9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into slavery in Egypt. God was with him, however, 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. The grace and wisdom he gave Joseph were recognized by Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over his whole palace. 11 A famine came upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great hardship came with it. Our ancestors had nothing to eat. 12 When Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. 13 During their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives—seventy-five in all—and invited them to live with him. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased for a certain sum of money from Hamor’s children, who lived in Shechem.
17 “When it was time for God to keep the promise he made to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly expanded. 18 But then another king rose to power over Egypt who didn’t know anything about Joseph.[d] 19 He exploited our people and abused our ancestors. He even forced them to abandon their newly born babies so they would die. 20 That’s when Moses was born. He was highly favored by God, and for three months his parents cared for him in their home. 21 After he was abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted and cared for him as though he were her own son. 22 Moses learned everything Egyptian wisdom had to offer, and he was a man of powerful words and deeds.
23 “When Moses was 40 years old, he decided to visit his family, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being wronged so he came to his rescue and evened the score by killing the Egyptian. 25 He expected his own kin to understand that God was using him to rescue them, but they didn’t. 26 The next day he came upon some Israelites who were caught up in an argument. He tried to make peace between them by saying, ‘You are brothers! Why are you harming each other?’ 27 The one who started the fight against his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who appointed you as our leader and judge? 28 Are you planning to kill me like you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’[e] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he lived as an immigrant and had two sons.
30 “Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush in the wilderness near Mount Sinai. 31 Enthralled by the sight, Moses approached to get a closer look and he heard the Lord’s voice: 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’[f] Trembling with fear, Moses didn’t dare to investigate any further. 33 The Lord continued, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have clearly seen the oppression my people have experienced in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning. I have come down to rescue them. Come! I am sending you to Egypt.’[g]
35 “This is the same Moses whom they rejected when they asked, ‘Who appointed you as our leader and judge?’ This is the Moses whom God sent as leader and deliverer. God did this with the help of the angel who appeared before him in the bush. 36 This man led them out after he performed wonders and signs in Egypt at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. 37 This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’[h] 38 This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with our ancestors and with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He is the one who received life-giving words to give to us. 39 He’s also the one whom our ancestors refused to obey. Instead, they pushed him aside and, in their thoughts and desires, returned to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will lead us. As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him!’[i] 41 That’s when they made an idol in the shape of a calf, offered a sacrifice to it, and began to celebrate what they had made with their own hands. 42 So God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the stars in the sky, just as it is written in the scroll of the Prophets:
Did you bring sacrifices and offerings to me
for forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel?
43 No! Instead, you took the tent of Moloch with you,
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you made in order to worship them.
Therefore, I will send you far away, farther than Babylon.[j]
44 “The tent of testimony was with our ancestors in the wilderness. Moses built it just as he had been instructed by the one who spoke to him and according to the pattern he had seen. 45 In time, when they had received the tent, our ancestors carried it with them when, under Joshua’s leadership, they took possession of the land from the nations whom God expelled. This tent remained in the land until the time of David. 46 God approved of David, who asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[k] 47 But it was Solomon who actually built a house for God. 48 However, the Most High doesn’t live in houses built by human hands. 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 where is my resting place?
50 Didn’t I make all these things with my own hand?’[l]
51 “You stubborn people! In your thoughts and hearing, you are like those who have had no part in God’s covenant! You continuously set yourself against the Holy Spirit, just like your ancestors did. 52 Was there a single prophet your ancestors didn’t harass? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the righteous one, and you’ve betrayed and murdered him! 53 You received the Law given by angels, but you haven’t kept it.”
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