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,
• 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,
• New Living Translation (NLT)“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.

Context of Acts 7:39

37“This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 38He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 41That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own 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! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
• Nehemiah 9:16“But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands.
• Psalms 106:16In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the Lord.
• Ezekiel 20:6On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out 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 man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
• Judges 11:2Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.”
• 1 Kings 2:27So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord, fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.
• Exodus 14:11They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? 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 Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
• Exodus 17:3But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”
• Numbers 11:5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.
• Numbers 14:3Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
• Numbers 21:5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
• Nehemiah 9:17They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert 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