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 Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’ 38This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you. Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt--we do not know what happened to him.’ 41At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were 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

• Our fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• were unwillingοὐou · noG3756
• were unwillingθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• to be obedientὑπήκοοςhupēkoos · obedientG5255
• repudiatedἀπωθέωapōtheomai apōthomai · to rejectG683
• him and in their heartsκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• turnedστρέφωstrephō · to turnG4762
• to EgyptΑἴγυπτοςAiguptos · EgyptG125

Cross-references for Acts 7:39

• Acts 7:51“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.
• Nehemiah 9:16“But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly; They became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments.
• Psalms 106:16When they became envious of Moses in the camp, And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
• Ezekiel 20:6on that day I swore to them, to bring them out from the land of Egypt into a land that I had selected for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands.
• Acts 7:27But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?
• Judges 11:2Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”
• 1 Kings 2:27So Solomon dismissed Abiathar from being priest to the Lord, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord, which He had spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
• Exodus 14:11Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt?
• Exodus 16:3The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
• Exodus 17:3But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, “Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
• Numbers 11:5We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,
• Numbers 14:3Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
• Numbers 21:5The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”
• Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; 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