Acts 7:53

Acts 7:53 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
• New International Version (NIV)you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
• New King James Version (NKJV)who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

Context of Acts 7:53

51Then Stephen said, ‘You people do not want to obey God! You do not want to listen to God's true message. You are the same as your ancestors. Like them, you always fight against what the Holy Spirit says. 52Your ancestors did bad things to every prophet that God sent to them. They even killed the prophets who told them about the Righteous Man that God would send. Now you have given that Man to his enemies. You have made them kill him. You are the people who received God's Law. God caused his angels to give that Law to your ancestors. But you have not obeyed it.’ 54The group of Jewish leaders listened to Stephen. What he said made them very angry. They bit their teeth together because they were so angry. 55But the Holy Spirit filled Stephen. He looked up to heaven and he saw the bright light of God's glory. He also saw Jesus, who was standing at the right side of God.

Acts 7:53 word by word

οἵτινες ἐλάβετε τὸν νόμον εἰς διαταγὰς ἀγγέλων καὶ οὐκ ἐφυλάξατε.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whoὅστιςhostis hētis ho6ti · who/whichG3748
• have receivedλαμβάνωlambanō · to takeG2983
• the lawὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the lawνόμοςnomos · lawG3551
• byεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the dispositionδιαταγήdiatagē · ordinanceG1296
• of angelsἄγγελοςaggelos · angelG32
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• haveφυλάσσωphulassō · to keep/guard: observeG5442
• notοὐou · noG3756

Cross-references for Acts 7:53

• Exodus 19:1After the Israelites left Rephidim, they went into the Sinai desert. The Israelites put up their tents in the desert, at the side of Sinai mountain. That happened on the first day of the third month since they came out of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 33:2He said this: ‘The Lord came from Sinai. He appeared to his people like the sun that rises over the hills of Edom. He shone on his people from Mount Paran. Thousands of angels came with him. In his right hand, he held his Law that burned with fire.
• Psalms 68:17God has millions of chariots. The Lord has come from Sinai mountain to his own holy place.
• Galatians 3:19So we could ask: Why did God give his Law to his people after his promise to Abraham? He gave his Law to show them which things are wrong. It would have authority until Abraham's special descendant would come. That was the descendant that God had promised to bless. God used angels to give his Law to his people. It was Moses who received the Law from God, and Moses then took it to God's people.
• Hebrews 2:2The message that God spoke by angels was certainly powerful. God punished people when they did not obey the Law that he gave to Moses. In a completely right way he punished people who did anything wrong.
• Ezekiel 20:18I said to their children in the wilderness, ‘Do not live in the bad way that your fathers did. Do not obey their rules. Do not worship their idols and make yourselves unclean.
• John 7:19Moses gave God's Law to you. But not one of you obeys that Law. Why are you trying to kill me?’
• Romans 2:23You are proud that you know God's Law. But you do not obey that Law. As a result, you cause other people to speak against God.
• Galatians 6:13Even those men that someone has circumcised do not obey all the Jewish rules. They want to circumcise you only to make themselves seem important. They want to show that they have authority over your bodies.

Commentaries on Acts 7:53

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 53By the disposition of angels - . After all that has been said on this difficult passage, perhaps the simple meaning is, that there were ranks, , of angels attending on the Divine Majesty when he gave the law: a circumstance which must have added greatly to the grandeur and solemnity of the occasion; and to this Psalm 68:17; seems to me most evidently to allude: The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even many thousands of angels: the Lord is among them…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 53Who have received the law - The Law of Moses, given on Mount Sinai. By the disposition of angels - There has been much diversity of opinion in regard to this phrase, ̓ ̀ ̓́ eis diatagas angelōnThe word translated “disposition” does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. It properly means the “constituting” or “arranging” of an army; disposing it into ranks and proper divisions. Hence, it has been supposed to mean that the Law was given “amidst” the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 51-53Verses 51-53 Stephen was going on, it seems, to show that the temple and the temple service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to the worship of the Father in spirit and in truth; but he perceived they would not bear it. Therefore he broke off, and by the Spirit of wisdom, courage, and power, sharply rebuked his persecutors. When plain arguments and truths provoke the opposers of the gospel, they should be shown their guilt…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-53Stephen answered the accusations by speaking about his Lord (see Luke 21:12–17). Instead of defending himself, he became a witness in God's legal case against them. This revealed how contrary they were and their lack of loyalty. Stephen gave a history of Israel's past and reminded them of their repeated rejections of those who announced God's messages. Stephen's review of Israel's history has three main parts: The work of the patriarchs. This refers to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 51-5351-53. Ye stiffnecked ... ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, &c.--It has been thought that symptoms of impatience and irritation in the audience induced Stephen to cut short his historical sketch. But as little farther light could have been thrown upon Israel's obstinacy from subsequent periods of the national history on the testimony of their own Scriptures, we should view this as the summing up, the brief import of the whole Israelitish…Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 7:53

• Angel (a Spirit)
• Court
• Government
• Law
• Prophets
• Readings, Select
• Reproof

In the dictionaries

• Charge
• Resist
• Saying
• Stone
• Thrust
• Wisdom
• Acts of the Apostles
• Disposition
• Doctrine
• Exodus, the Book of

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