Acts 7

Stephen’s Defense

1Now the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

2And 1Stephen said, “Listen to me, 23brothers and fathers! 4The God of glory 5appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in 6Haran, 3and He said to him, ‘7Go from your country and your relatives, and come to the land which I will show you.’ 48Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in 9Haran. And 10from there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, 11He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. 6But 12God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and 13they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years. 7‘And whatever nation to which they are enslaved I Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and 14after that they will come out and 15serve Me in this place.’ 8And He 16gave him 17the covenant of circumcision; and so 18Abraham fathered Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and 19Isaac fathered Jacob, and 20Jacob, the twelve 21patriarchs.

9“The patriarchs 22became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10and rescued him from all his afflictions, and 23granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and his entire household.

11“Now 24a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers 25could find no food. 12But 26when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13And on the second visit, 27Joseph 28made himself known to his brothers, and 29Joseph’s family was revealed to Pharaoh. 14Then 30Joseph sent word and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, 31seventy-five 3233people in all. 15And 34Jacob went down to Egypt, and he and our fathers died there. 16And they were brought back from there to 3536Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of 37Hamor in 38Shechem.

17“But as the 39time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, 40the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18until 41another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 19It was he who 42shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would 43abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive. 20At this time 44Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home. 21And after he had been put outside, 45Pharaoh’s daughter 46took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22Moses was educated in all 47the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in 48speaking and action. 23But when he was approaching the age of forty, 49it entered his 50mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel. 24And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian. 25And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them 51deliverance 52through him; but they did not understand. 2653And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?’ 27But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘54Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 2855You do not intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 29At this remark, 56Moses fled and became a stranger in the land of 57Midian, where he 58fathered two sons.

30“After forty years had passed, 59an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: 32‘60I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely. 3361But the Lord said to him, ‘6263Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 3464I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and 65now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35“This Moses whom they 66disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God 67sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the 68help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 3669This man led them out, performing 70wonders and 71signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the 72wilderness for forty years. 37This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘73God will raise up for you a prophet 74like me from your countrymen.’ 38This is the one who was in 75the 76assembly in the wilderness together with 77the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received 78living 79words to pass on to you. 39Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they 80rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 4081saying to Aaron, ‘Make us 82a god 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.’ 4183At that time 84they made a 85calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in 86the works of their hands. 42But God 87turned away and gave them over to 88serve the heavenly 89lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘90You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices 91for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel? 4392You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god 93Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will deport you beyond Babylon.’

44“Our fathers had 94the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it 95according to the pattern which he had seen. 45Our fathers in turn received it, and they also 96brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the 97nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. 469899David found favor in God’s sight, and 100asked that he might 101find a dwelling place for the 102house of Jacob. 47But it was 103Solomon who built a house for Him. 48However, 104the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:49‘105Heaven is My throne, And the earth is the footstool of My feet; What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord, ‘Or what place is there for My rest?50106Was it not My hand that made all these things?’

51“You men who are 107stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52108Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of 109the Righteous One, and 110you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; 53you who received the Law as 111ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Stephen Put to Death

54Now when they heard this, they were 112infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55But he, being 113full of the Holy Spirit, 114looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing 115at the right hand of God; 56and he said, “Behold, I see the 116heavens opened and 117the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one 118mind. 58When they had 119driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and 120the witnesses 121laid aside their cloaks at the feet of 122a young man named Saul. 59They went on stoning Stephen as he 123called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60Then he 124fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, 125do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he 126127fell asleep.