Acts 7:51

Acts 7:51 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
• New International Version (NIV)“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
• English Standard Version (ESV)"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

Context of Acts 7:51

49‘The Lord says, “Heaven is my throne. The earth is my footstool. What kind of house are you going to build for me? Where will I rest? 50Didn’t I make all these things?” ’ “How stubborn can you be? How can you be so heartless and disobedient? You’re just like your ancestors. They always opposed the Holy Spirit, and so do you! 52Was there ever a prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute? They killed those who predicted that a man with God’s approval would come. You have now become the people who betrayed and murdered that man. 53You are the people who received Moses’ Teachings, which were put into effect by angels. But you haven’t obeyed those teachings.”

Acts 7:51 word by word

σκληροτράχηλοι καὶ ἀπερίτμητοι καρδίαις καὶ τοῖς ὠσίν, ὑμεῖς ἀεὶ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτετε, ὡς οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν καὶ ὑμεῖς·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Yeσύsu · youG4771
• stiffneckedσκληροτράχηλοςsklērotrachēlos · stiff-neckedG4644
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• uncircumcisedἀπερίτμητοςaperitmētos · uncircumcisedG564
• in heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• earsοὖςous · earG3775
• ye doἀντιπίπτωantipiptō · to resistG496
• alwaysἀείaei · alwaysG104
• theπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962

Cross-references for Acts 7:51

• Exodus 32:9The Lord added, “I’ve seen these people, and they are impossible to deal with.
• Exodus 33:3Go to that land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not be with you, because you are impossible to deal with, and I would destroy you on the way.”
• Exodus 34:9Then he said, “Lord, please go with us! Even though we are impossible to deal with, forgive our sin and the wrong we have done, and accept us as your own people.”
• Deuteronomy 9:6So understand this: It’s not because you’ve been living right that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess. You are impossible to deal with!
• Deuteronomy 31:27I know how rebellious you are. You are impossible to deal with. While I am alive and still with you, you are rebelling against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after I die?
• 2 Chronicles 30:8Don’t be impossible to deal with like your ancestors. Reach out for the Lord. Come to his holy place that he made holy forever. Serve the Lord your God, and he will turn his burning anger away from you.
• Nehemiah 9:16But they—our own ancestors—acted arrogantly. They became stubborn and wouldn’t obey your commands.
• Psalms 75:5Don’t raise your weapons so proudly or speak so defiantly.”
• Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation. Their hearts were not loyal. Their spirits were not faithful to God.
• Isaiah 48:4I know that you are stubborn. Like iron, you are hardheaded. Like bronze, nothing gets through your thick skull.
• Jeremiah 17:23Your ancestors did not obey me or pay attention to me. They were impossible to deal with and would not listen or accept discipline.
• Ezekiel 2:4I am sending you to these defiant and stubborn children. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says.’
• Zechariah 7:11“But people refused to pay attention. They shrugged their shoulders at me and shut their ears so that they couldn’t hear.
• Leviticus 26:41I will oppose them and bring them into the lands of their enemies. Then, if they humble their uncircumcised hearts and accept their guilt,
• Deuteronomy 10:16So circumcise your uncircumcised hearts, and don’t be impossible to deal with any longer.
• Deuteronomy 30:6The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants. You will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will live.

Commentaries on Acts 7:51

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 51Ye stiff-necked - . A metaphor taken from untoward oxen, who cannot be broken into the yoke; and whose strong necks cannot be bended to the right or the left. Uncircumcised in heart and ears - This was a Jewish mode of speech, often used by the prophets. Circumcision was instituted, not only as a sign and seal of the covenant into which the Israelites entered with their Maker, but also as a type of that purity and holiness which the law of God requires…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 51Ye stiff-necked - The discourse of Stephen has every appearance of having been interrupted by the clamors and opposition of the Sanhedrin. This verse has no immediate connection with what precedes, and appears to have been spoken in the midst of opposition and clamor. If we may conjecture in this case, it would seem that the Jews saw the drift of his argument; that they interrupted him; and that when the tumult had somewhat subsided, he addressed them in…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. 51Stephen accused the people of being stiff-necked with uncircumcised hearts and ears. This means they were strong-willed and ignored God's truth. This was exactly how God had accused them of behaving during the time of wilderness wandering. Here, Stephen links it to rejecting the gospel and resisting the Holy Spirit (see Exodus 32:9; 33:3; 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:6, 13; 31:27; see also Psalm 78:8; Zechariah 7:11–12).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 7:51

• Character
• Court
• Government
• Holy Spirit
• Impenitence
• Readings, Select
• Reproof
• Self-Will

In the dictionaries

• Holy Ghost
• Charge
• Circumcision
• Resist
• Saying
• Stone
• Thrust
• Wisdom
• Acts of the Apostles
• Alway; Always

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