²² “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and He added no more. And ^(A)He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

The People Afraid of God’s Presence^(B)

^23 (C)“So it was, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. ²⁴ And you said: ‘Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and ^(D)we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he ^(E)still lives. ²⁵ Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; ^(F)if we hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore, then we shall die. ^26 (G)For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? ²⁷ You go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say, and ^(H)tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.’

²⁸ “Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me: ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. ^(I)They are right in all that they have spoken. ^29 (J)Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and ^(K)always keep all My commandments, ^(L)that it might be well with them and with their children forever! ³⁰ Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” ³¹ But as for you, stand here by Me, ^(M)and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess.’

³² “Therefore you shall ^[a]be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; ^(N)you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. ³³ You shall walk in ^(O)all the ways which the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live ^(P)and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

Seven Chosen to Serve

6 Now in those days, ^(A)when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the ^(B)Hellenists,^[a] because their widows were neglected ^(C)in the daily distribution. ² Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, ^(D)“It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. ³ Therefore, brethren, ^(E)seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this ^(F)business; ⁴ but we ^(G)will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵ And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, ^(H)a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and ^(I)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and ^(J)Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, ⁶ whom they set before the apostles; and ^(K)when they had prayed, ^(L)they laid hands on them.

⁷ Then ^(M)the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many ^(N)of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Stephen Accused of Blasphemy

⁸ And Stephen, full of ^[b]faith and power, did great ^(O)wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. ¹⁰ And ^(P)they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. ^11 (Q)Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” ¹² And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. ¹³ They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak ^[c]blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; ^14 (R)for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” ¹⁵ And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

7 Then the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

² And he said, ^(S)“Brethren and fathers, listen: The ^(T)God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in ^(U)Haran, ³ and said to him, ^(V)‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ ⁴ Then ^(W)he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was ^(X)dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. ⁵ And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, ^(Y)He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. ⁶ But God spoke in this way: ^(Z)that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into ^(AA)bondage and oppress them four hundred years. ^7 (AB)‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will ^(AC)judge,’ said God, ^(AD)‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ ^8 (AE)Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; ^(AF)and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; ^(AG)and Isaac begot Jacob, and ^(AH)Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

The Patriarchs in Egypt

^9 (AI)“And the patriarchs, becoming envious, ^(AJ)sold Joseph into Egypt. ^(AK)But God was with him ¹⁰ and delivered him out of all his troubles, ^(AL)and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. ^11 (AM)Now a famine and great ^[d]trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. ^12 (AN)But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. ¹³ And the ^(AO)second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. ^14 (AP)Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and ^(AQ)all his relatives to him, ^[e]seventy-five people. ^15 (AR)So Jacob went down to Egypt; ^(AS)and he died, he and our fathers. ¹⁶ And ^(AT)they were carried back to Shechem and laid in ^(AU)the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

The Greatest Commandment

6 “Now this is ^(A)the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, ^2 (B)that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, ^(C)and that your days may be prolonged. ³ Therefore hear, O Israel, and ^[a]be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may ^(D)multiply greatly ^(E)as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—^(F)‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

^4 (G)“Hear, O Israel: ^[b]The Lord our God, the Lord is one! ^5 (H)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, ^(I)with all your soul, and with all your strength.

⁶ “And ^(J)these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ^7 (K)You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ^8 (L)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ^9 (M)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Caution Against Disobedience

¹⁰ “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He ^[c]swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities ^(N)which you did not build, ¹¹ houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—^(O)when you have eaten and are full— ¹² then beware, lest you forget the ^(P)Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. ¹³ You shall ^(Q)fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and ^(R)shall take oaths in His name. ¹⁴ You shall not go after other gods, ^(S)the gods of the peoples who are all around you ¹⁵ (for ^(T)the Lord your God is a jealous God ^(U)among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.

^16 (V)“You shall not ^[d]tempt the Lord your God ^(W)as you ^[e]tempted Him in Massah. ¹⁷ You shall ^(X)diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. ¹⁸ And you ^(Y)shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, ^19 (Z)to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.

^20 (AA)“When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the Lord our God has commanded you?’ ²¹ then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt ^(AB)with a mighty hand; ²² and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. ²³ Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He ^[f]swore to our fathers. ²⁴ And the Lord commanded us to ^[g]observe all these ^[h]statutes, ^(AC)to fear the Lord our God, ^(AD)for our good always, that ^(AE)He might preserve us alive, as it is ^[i]this day. ²⁵ Then ^(AF)it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’

God Delivers Israel by Moses

¹⁷ “But when ^(A)the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, ^(B)the people grew and multiplied in Egypt ¹⁸ till another king ^(C)arose who did not know Joseph. ¹⁹ This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, ^(D)making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. ^20 (E)At this time Moses was born, and ^(F)was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. ²¹ But ^(G)when he was set out, ^(H)Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. ²² And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was ^(I)mighty in words and deeds.

^23 (J)“Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. ²⁴ And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. ²⁵ For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. ²⁶ And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ ²⁷ But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ^(K)‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’ ^29 (L)Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he ^(M)had two sons.

^30 (N)“And when forty years had passed, an Angel ^[a]of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, ³² saying, ^(O)‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. ^33 (P)‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. ³⁴ I have surely ^(Q)seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will ^(R)send you to Egypt.” ’