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

37“Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’ 38Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us. “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. 40They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’ 41So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they 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 stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!
• Nehemiah 9:16“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands.
• Psalms 106:16The people in the camp were jealous of Moses and envious of Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.
• Ezekiel 20:6I took a solemn oath that day that I would bring them out of Egypt to a land I had discovered and explored for them—a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the best of all lands anywhere.
• Acts 7:27“But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked.
• Judges 11:2Gilead’s wife also had several sons, and when these half brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. “You will not get any of our father’s inheritance,” they said, “for you are the son of a prostitute.”
• 1 Kings 2:27So Solomon deposed Abiathar from his position as priest of the Lord, thereby fulfilling the prophecy the Lord had given at Shiloh concerning the descendants of Eli.
• Exodus 14:11and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt?
• Exodus 16:3“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”
• Exodus 17:3But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”
• Numbers 11:5“We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted.
• Numbers 14:3“Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?”
• Numbers 21:5and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”
• Nehemiah 9:17They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon 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