Acts 7:39

Acts 7:39 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
• New International Version (NIV)“But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,
• New King James Version (NKJV)whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

Context of Acts 7:39

37This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ 38He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us. But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ 41At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.

Acts 7:39 word by word

ᾧ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ὑπήκοοι γενέσθαι οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπώσαντο καὶ ἐστράφησαν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον,Read the interlinear

• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• refusedθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• refusedοὐou · noG3756
• toγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• obeyὑπήκοοςhupēkoos · obedientG5255
• ·ὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• Insteadἀλλάalla · butG235
• they rejectedἀπωθέωapōtheomai apōthomai · to rejectG683
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• turned backστρέφωstrephō · to turnG4762
• toεἰςeis · towardG1519
• EgyptΑἴγυπτοςAiguptos · EgyptG125

Cross-references for Acts 7:39

• Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
• Nehemiah 9:16But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments.
• Psalms 106:16In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
• Ezekiel 20:6On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.
• Acts 7:27But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
• Judges 11:2And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”
• 1 Kings 2:27So Solomon banished Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD and thus fulfilled the word that the LORD had spoken at Shiloh against the house of Eli.
• Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
• Exodus 16:3“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!”
• Exodus 17:3But the people thirsted for water there, and they grumbled against Moses: “Why have you brought us out of Egypt—to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
• Numbers 11:5We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
• Numbers 14:3Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
• Numbers 21:5and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
• Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them.

Commentaries on Acts 7:39

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 39In their hearts turned back again into Egypt - Became idolaters, and preferred their Egyptian bondage and their idolatry to the promised land and the pure worship of God. See the whole of these transactions explained at large in the notes on Exodus 32:1-35 (note).Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 39Would not obey … - This refers to what they said of him when he was in the mount, Exodus 32:1, Exodus 32:23. In their hearts turned … - They wished to return to Egypt. They regretted that they had come out of Egypt, and desired again the things which they had there, as preferable to what they had in the desert, Numbers 11:5. Perhaps, however, the expression means, not that they desired literally to “return” to Egypt, but that “their hearts inclined to the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 30-41Verses 30-41 Men deceive themselves, if they think God cannot do what he sees to be good any where; he can bring his people into a wilderness, and there speak comfortably to them. He appeared to Moses in a flame of fire, yet the bush was not consumed; which represented the state of Israel in Egypt, where, though they were in the fire of affliction, yet they were not consumed. It may also be looked upon as a type of Christ's taking upon him the nature of…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 39-40The ancient Jews rejected the law Moses gave to them for their salvation. Stephen was speaking to the people of his time who were physical and spiritual descendants from those Jews. His point was that they were still rejecting God's messengers. In this case, it was Jesus, the ultimate savior.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 35-4135-41. This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge, &c.--Here, again, "the stone which the builders refused is made the head of the corner" (Psa 118:22).Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 7:39

• Apostasy
• Court
• Government
• Readings, Select

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Charge
• Resist
• Saying
• Stone
• Thrust
• Wisdom
• Acts of the Apostles
• Doctrine

Commentaries on Acts 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings