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

37“This is the Moses who said to the Israelites: God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. 38He is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us. Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron: Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him. 41They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• To whomὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ourἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• fathersὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• wouldθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• ·γίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• notοὐou · noG3756
• obeyὑπήκοοςhupēkoos · obedientG5255
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• thrustἀπωθέωapōtheomai apōthomai · to rejectG683
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• inκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• theirαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• turned back againστρέφωstrephō · to turnG4762
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• EgyptΑἴγυπτοςAiguptos · EgyptG125

Cross-references for Acts 7:39

• Acts 7:51“You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also.
• Nehemiah 9:16But our ancestors acted arrogantly; they became stiff-necked and did not listen to your commands.
• Psalms 106:16In the camp they were envious of Moses and of Aaron, the Lord’s holy one.
• Ezekiel 20:6On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
• Acts 7:27“But the one who was mistreating his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying: Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us?
• Judges 11:2Gilead’s wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will have no inheritance in our father’s family, because you are the son of another woman.”
• 1 Kings 2:27So Solomon banished Abiathar from being the Lord’s priest, and it fulfilled the Lord’s prophecy he had spoken at Shiloh against Eli’s family.
• Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
• Exodus 16:3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”
• Exodus 17:3But the people thirsted there for water and grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you ever bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
• Numbers 11:5We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
• Numbers 14:3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
• Numbers 21:5The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from 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 did not remember your wonders you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love, and you did not abandon 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