New International Version
Acts 7:6
6God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated.
Acts 7:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.
- New Living Translation (NLT)God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
Context of Acts 7:6
4“So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ 8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.
Read all of Acts 7Acts 7:6 word by word
ἐλάλησεν δὲ οὕτως ὁ θεός, ὅτι ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ πάροικον ἐν γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ καὶ δουλώσουσιν αὐτὸ καὶ κακώσουσιν ἔτη τετρακόσια.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- Godὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
- spakeλαλέωlaleō · to speakG2980
- on this wiseοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
- Thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- seedσπέρμαsperma · seed: offspringG4690
- shouldεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- sojournπάροικοςparoikos · foreignerG3941
- inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
- a strangeἀλλότριοςallotrios · another’sG245
- landγῆgē · earth: countryG1093
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- that they should bringδουλόωdouloō · to enslaveG1402
- entreatκακόωkakoō · to harmG2559
- four hundredτετρακόσιοιtetrakosioi tetrakosia · four hundredG5071
- yearsἔτοςetos · yearG2094
Cross-references for Acts 7:6
- Genesis 15:13Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there.
- Exodus 12:40Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years.
- Galatians 3:17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
Commentaries on Acts 7:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6That his seed should sojourn in a strange land - See Genesis 15:13, Genesis 15:14. Four hundred years - Moses says, Exodus 12:40, that the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt - was 430 years. See the note there. St. Paul has the same number, Galatians 3:17; and so has Josephus, Ant. lib. ii. cap. 1, sect. 9; in Bell. lib. v. cap. 9, sect. 4. St. Stephen uses the round number of 400, leaving out the odd tens, a thing very common, not only in the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6And God spake on this wise - In this manner, Genesis 15:13-14. His seed - His posterity; his descendants. Should sojourn - This means that they would have a “temporary residence there.” The word is used in opposition to a fixed, permanent home, and is applied to travelers, or foreigners. In a strange land - In the Hebrew Genesis 15:13, “Shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs.” The land of Canaan and the land of Egypt were strange lands to them…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-53Stephen answered the accusations by speaking about his Lord (see Luke 21:12–17). Instead of defending himself, he became a witness in God's legal case against them. This revealed how contrary they were and their lack of loyalty. Stephen gave a history of Israel's past and reminded them of their repeated rejections of those who announced God's messages. Stephen's review of Israel's history has three main parts: The work of the patriarchs. This refers to…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-86-8. four hundred years--using round numbers, as in Ge 15:13, 16 (see on Ga 3:17).Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 7:6
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
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