New International Version
Acts 7:42
42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
Acts 7:42 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
- English Standard Version (ESV)But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: "'Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets: ‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel?
Context of Acts 7:42
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. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel? 43You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon. 44“Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
Read all of Acts 7Acts 7:42 word by word
ἔστρεψεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς λατρεύειν τῇ στρατιᾷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ τῶν προφητῶν· μὴ σφάγια καὶ θυσίας προσηνέγκατέ μοι ἔτη τεσσεράκοντα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οἶκος Ἰσραήλ;Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Thenδέde · thenG1161
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- turnedστρέφωstrephō · to turnG4762
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- gaveπαραδίδωμιparadidōmi · to deliverG3860
- themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- to worshipλατρεύωlatreuō · to ministerG3000
- the hostστρατιάstratia · armyG4756
- of heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
- asκαθώςkathōs · as/just asG2531
- it is writtenγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- the bookβίβλοςbiblos · bookG976
- of the prophetsπροφήτηςprophētēs · prophetG4396
- houseοἶκοςoikos · house: homeG3624
- of IsraelἸσραήλIsraēl · IsraelG2474
- ·μήmē · notG3361
- have ye offeredπροσφέρωprospherō · to bring toG4374
- to meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
- slain beastsσφάγιονsphagion · sacrificial victimG4968
- sacrificesθυσίαthusia · sacrificeG2378
- fortyτεσσαράκονταtessarakonta · fortyG5062
- yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
- the wildernessἔρημοςerēmos · desertedG2048
Cross-references for Acts 7:42
- Psalms 81:11“But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.
- Isaiah 66:4so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring on them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.”
- Ezekiel 14:7“ ‘When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself.
- Ezekiel 20:25So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live;
- Hosea 4:17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!
- Romans 1:24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:10and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
- Deuteronomy 4:19And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
- Deuteronomy 17:3and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky,
- 2 Kings 17:16They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal.
- 2 Kings 21:3He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Asherah pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.
- Job 31:26if I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,
- Jeremiah 19:13The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’ ”
- Ezekiel 8:16He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
- Amos 5:25“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
- Isaiah 43:23You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings, nor honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense.
Commentaries on Acts 7:42
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 42Then God turned, and gave them up, etc. - He left them to themselves, and then they deified and worshipped the sun, moon, planets, and principal stars. In the book of the prophets - As this quotation is found in Amos, Amos 5:25, by the book of the prophets is meant the twelve minor prophets, which, in the ancient Jewish division of the sacred writings, formed only one book. Have ye offered to me slain beasts - It is certain that the Israelites did offer…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 42Then God turned - That is, turned away from them; abandoned them to their own desires. The host of heaven - The stars, or heavenly bodies. The word “host” means “armies.” It is applied to the heavenly bodies because they are very numerous, and appear to be “marshalled” or arrayed in military order. It is from this that God is called Yahweh “of hosts,” as being the ruler of these well-arranged heavenly bodies. See the notes on Isaiah 1:9. The proof that…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 42-50Verses 42-50 Stephen upbraids the Jews with the idolatry of their fathers, to which God gave them up as a punishment for their early forsaking him. It was no dishonour, but an honour to God, that the tabernacle gave way to the temple; so it is now, that the earthly temple gives way to the spiritual one; and so it will be when, at last, the spiritual shall give way to the eternal one. The whole world is God's temple, in which he is every where present, and…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 42-43This passage quotes Amos 5:25–27 (Greek version) to show how the people of Israel rebelled against Moses (Acts 7:39–41). Molech was a Canaanite god to whom human sacrifices were offered (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2–5; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35). Rephan, a star god identified with the planet Saturn, was worshiped by the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 42-5042-50. gave them up--judicially. as ... written in the book of the prophets--the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25. have ye offered to me ... sacrifices?--The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [Bengel].Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 7:42
In the dictionaries
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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries