New Living Translation
Acts 7:51
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!
Acts 7:51 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
- New International Version (NIV)“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.
Context of Acts 7:51
49‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the Lord. ‘Could you build me such a resting place? 50Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’ “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! 52Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. 53You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”
Read all of Acts 7Acts 7:51 word by word
σκληροτράχηλοι καὶ ἀπερίτμητοι καρδίαις καὶ τοῖς ὠσίν, ὑμεῖς ἀεὶ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτετε, ὡς οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν καὶ ὑμεῖς·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Yeσύsu · youG4771
- stiffneckedσκληροτράχηλοςsklērotrachēlos · stiff-neckedG4644
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- uncircumcisedἀπερίτμητοςaperitmētos · uncircumcisedG564
- in heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
- earsοὖςous · earG3775
- ye doἀντιπίπτωantipiptō · to resistG496
- alwaysἀείaei · alwaysG104
- theπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
- Holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- fathersπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
Cross-references for Acts 7:51
- Exodus 32:9Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are.
- Exodus 33:3Go up to this land that flows with milk and honey. But I will not travel among you, for you are a stubborn and rebellious people. If I did, I would surely destroy you along the way.”
- Exodus 34:9And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.”
- Deuteronomy 9:6You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people.
- Deuteronomy 31:27For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death!
- 2 Chronicles 30:8Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.
- Nehemiah 9:16“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands.
- Psalms 75:5Don’t raise your fists in defiance at the heavens or speak with such arrogance.’”
- Psalms 78:8Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God.
- Isaiah 48:4For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are. Your necks are as unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze.
- Jeremiah 17:23but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.
- Ezekiel 2:4They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’
- Zechariah 7:11“Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing.
- Leviticus 26:41When I have turned their hostility back on them and brought them to the land of their enemies, then at last their stubborn hearts will be humbled, and they will pay for their sins.
- Deuteronomy 10:16Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.
- Deuteronomy 30:6“The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you may live!
Commentaries on Acts 7:51
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 51Ye stiff-necked - . A metaphor taken from untoward oxen, who cannot be broken into the yoke; and whose strong necks cannot be bended to the right or the left. Uncircumcised in heart and ears - This was a Jewish mode of speech, often used by the prophets. Circumcision was instituted, not only as a sign and seal of the covenant into which the Israelites entered with their Maker, but also as a type of that purity and holiness which the law of God requires…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 51Ye stiff-necked - The discourse of Stephen has every appearance of having been interrupted by the clamors and opposition of the Sanhedrin. This verse has no immediate connection with what precedes, and appears to have been spoken in the midst of opposition and clamor. If we may conjecture in this case, it would seem that the Jews saw the drift of his argument; that they interrupted him; and that when the tumult had somewhat subsided, he addressed them in…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 51-53Verses 51-53 Stephen was going on, it seems, to show that the temple and the temple service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to the worship of the Father in spirit and in truth; but he perceived they would not bear it. Therefore he broke off, and by the Spirit of wisdom, courage, and power, sharply rebuked his persecutors. When plain arguments and truths provoke the opposers of the gospel, they should be shown their guilt…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 51Stephen accused the people of being stiff-necked with uncircumcised hearts and ears. This means they were strong-willed and ignored God's truth. This was exactly how God had accused them of behaving during the time of wilderness wandering. Here, Stephen links it to rejecting the gospel and resisting the Holy Spirit (see Exodus 32:9; 33:3; 34:9; Deuteronomy 9:6, 13; 31:27; see also Psalm 78:8; Zechariah 7:11–12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 51-5351-53. Ye stiffnecked ... ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, &c.--It has been thought that symptoms of impatience and irritation in the audience induced Stephen to cut short his historical sketch. But as little farther light could have been thrown upon Israel's obstinacy from subsequent periods of the national history on the testimony of their own Scriptures, we should view this as the summing up, the brief import of the whole Israelitish…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 7:51
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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