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12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.”

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12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”(A)

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15 for I will give you words[a] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 21.15 Gk a mouth

15 For I will give you(A) words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.

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20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.(A)

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20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father(A) speaking through you.

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Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,(A)

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Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,(A) said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!(B)

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10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit[a] with which he spoke.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. 6.10 Or spirit

10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.(A)

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11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?(A)

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11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute?(A) Who gives them sight or makes them blind?(B) Is it not I, the Lord?

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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.(A)

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55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,(A) looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.(B)

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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,(A) and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.’(B) 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.(C) 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.(D) And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years.(E) ‘But I will judge the people whom they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’(F) 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 did likewise to Jacob and Jacob to the twelve patriarchs.(G)

“The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him(H) 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions and enabled him to win favor and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.(I) 11 Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food.(J) 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit.(K) 13 On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.(L) 14 Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all;(M) 15 so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors,(N) 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.(O)

17 “But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied(P) 18 until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. 19 He dealt craftily with our people and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die.(Q) 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.(R)

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his kinfolk, the Israelites.(S) 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 quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses[d] 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.(T) 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.(U) 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.’(V)

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.(W) 36 He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.(X) 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.’(Y) 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.(Z) 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.’(AA) 41 At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.(AB) 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
    forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?(AC)
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[e] directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.(AD) 45 Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the peoples whom God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David,(AE) 46 who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.[f](AF) 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands;[g] as the prophet says,(AG)

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?(AH)
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.(AI) 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.(AJ) 53 You are the ones who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.”(AK)

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Footnotes

  1. 7.2 Gk Men, brothers
  2. 7.8 Gk he
  3. 7.16 Gk they
  4. 7.27 Gk him
  5. 7.44 Gk he
  6. 7.46 Other ancient authorities read for the God of Jacob
  7. 7.48 Gk with hands

To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers,(A) listen to me! The God of glory(B) appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran.(C) ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’[a](D)

“So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.(E) He gave him no inheritance here,(F) not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land,(G) even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.(H) But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’[b](I) Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision.(J) And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth.(K) Later Isaac became the father of Jacob,(L) and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.(M)

“Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph,(N) they sold him as a slave into Egypt.(O) But God was with him(P) 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.(Q)

11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.(R) 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit.(S) 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was,(T) and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.(U) 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family,(V) seventy-five in all.(W) 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died.(X) 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.(Y)

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.(Z) 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’[c](AA) 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.(AB)

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child.[d] For three months he was cared for by his family.(AC) 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.(AD) 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians(AE) and was powerful in speech and action.

23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’

27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?(AF) 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’[e] 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.(AG)

30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say:(AH) 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers,(AI) the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’[f] Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.(AJ)

33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.(AK) 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’[g](AL)

35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’(AM) He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt(AN) and performed wonders and signs(AO) in Egypt, at the Red Sea(AP) and for forty years in the wilderness.(AQ)

37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’[h](AR) 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel(AS) who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors;(AT) and he received living words(AU) to pass on to us.(AV)

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.(AW) 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’[i](AX) 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made.(AY) 42 But God turned away from them(AZ) and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.(BA) This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
    forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’[j](BB) beyond Babylon.

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law(BC) with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.(BD) 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them.(BE) It remained in the land until the time of David,(BF) 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.[k](BG) 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.(BH)

48 “However, the Most High(BI) does not live in houses made by human hands.(BJ) As the prophet says:

49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.(BK)
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
    Or where will my resting place be?
50 Has not my hand made all these things?’[l](BL)

51 “You stiff-necked people!(BM) Your hearts(BN) and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?(BO) They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him(BP) 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels(BQ) but have not obeyed it.”

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 7:3 Gen. 12:1
  2. Acts 7:7 Gen. 15:13,14
  3. Acts 7:18 Exodus 1:8
  4. Acts 7:20 Or was fair in the sight of God
  5. Acts 7:28 Exodus 2:14
  6. Acts 7:32 Exodus 3:6
  7. Acts 7:34 Exodus 3:5,7,8,10
  8. Acts 7:37 Deut. 18:15
  9. Acts 7:40 Exodus 32:1
  10. Acts 7:43 Amos 5:25-27 (see Septuagint)
  11. Acts 7:46 Some early manuscripts the house of Jacob
  12. Acts 7:50 Isaiah 66:1,2

Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa

26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:(A)

“I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.(B)

“All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem.(C) They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee.(D) And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,(E) a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, Your Excellency,[a] that I am accused by Jews!(F) Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?(G)

“Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.[b](H) 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.(I) 11 By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme, and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.(J)

Paul Tells of His Conversion

12 “With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,(K) 13 when at midday along the road, Your Excellency,[c] I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew[d] language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.’(L) 15 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me[e] and to those in which I will appear to you.(M) 17 I will rescue you from your people and from the gentiles—to whom I am sending you(N) 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’(O)

Paul Tells of His Preaching

19 “After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance.(P) 21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.(Q) 22 To this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place:(R) 23 that the Messiah[f] must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the gentiles.”(S)

Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe

24 While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!”(T) 25 But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth.(U) 26 Indeed, the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely, for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?”(V) 29 Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am—except for these chains.”(W)

30 Then the king got up and with him the governor and Bernice and those who had been seated with them, 31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, “This man is doing nothing to deserve death or imprisonment.”(X) 32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to the emperor.”(Y)

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Footnotes

  1. 26.7 Gk O King
  2. 26.9 Gk the Nazorean
  3. 26.13 Gk O King
  4. 26.14 That is, Aramaic
  5. 26.16 Other ancient authorities read the things that you have seen
  6. 26.23 Or the Christ

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”(A)

So Paul motioned with his hand(B) and began his defense: “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you(C) today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews,(D) and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs(E) and controversies.(F) Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.

“The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child,(G) from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. They have known me for a long time(H) and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect(I) of our religion, living as a Pharisee.(J) And now it is because of my hope(K) in what God has promised our ancestors(L) that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes(M) are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night.(N) King Agrippa, it is because of this hope that these Jews are accusing me.(O) Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?(P)

“I too was convinced(Q) that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose(R) the name of Jesus of Nazareth.(S) 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(T) in prison,(U) and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.(V) 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished,(W) and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.

12 “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice(X) saying to me in Aramaic,[a](Y) ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet.(Z) I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me.(AA) 17 I will rescue you(AB) from your own people and from the Gentiles.(AC) I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes(AD) and turn them from darkness to light,(AE) and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins(AF) and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’(AG)

19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient(AH) to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus,(AI) then to those in Jerusalem(AJ) and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles,(AK) I preached that they should repent(AL) and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.(AM) 21 That is why some Jews seized me(AN) in the temple courts and tried to kill me.(AO) 22 But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen(AP) 23 that the Messiah would suffer(AQ) and, as the first to rise from the dead,(AR) would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”(AS)

24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind,(AT) Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning(AU) is driving you insane.”

25 “I am not insane, most excellent(AV) Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things,(AW) and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”(AX)

29 Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”(AY)

30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice(AZ) and those sitting with them. 31 After they left the room, they began saying to one another, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”(BA)

32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free(BB) if he had not appealed to Caesar.”(BC)

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 26:14 Or Hebrew