Atos 7

Da gik han ud fra Kaldæernes Land og tog Bolig i Karan; og efter hans Faders Død lod Gud ham flytte derfra hen i dette Land, hvor I nu bo.

Og han gav ham ikke Ejendom deri, end ikke en Fodsbred; dog forjættede han ham at give ham det til Eje og hans Sæd efter ham, endskønt han intet Barn havde.

Og han gav ham Omskærelsens Pagt. Og så avlede han Isak og omskar ham den ottende Dag, og Isak avlede Jakob, og Jakob de tolv Patriarker.

Og Patriarkerne bare Avind imod Josef og solgte ham til Ægypten; og Gud var med ham,

og han udfriede ham af alle hans Trængsler og gav ham Nåde og Visdom for Farao, Kongen i Ægypten, som satte ham til Øverste over Ægypten og over hele sit Hus.

Men der kom Hungersnød over hele Ægypten og Kanån og en stor Trængsel, og vore Fædre fandt ikke Føde.

Men da Jakob hørte, at der var Korn i Ægypten, sendte han vore Fædre ud første Gang.

Og anden Gang blev Josef genkendt af sine Brødre, og Josefs Herkomst blev åbenbar for Farao.

Men Josef sendte Bud og lod sin Fader Jakob og al sin Slægt kalde til sig, fem og halvfjerdsindstyve Sjæle.

Og Jakob drog ned til Ægypten. Og han og vore Fædre døde,

og de bleve flyttede til Sikem og lagte i den Grav, som Abraham havde købt for en Sum Penge af Hemors Sønner i Sikem.

Som nu Tiden nærmede sig for den Forjættelse, Gud havde tilsagt Abraham, voksede Folket og formeredes i Ægypten,

indtil der fremstod en anden Konge, som ikke kendte Josef.

Han viste Træskhed imod vor Slægt og handlede ilde med vore Fædre, så de måtte sætte deres små Børn ud, for at de ikke skulde holdes i Live.

På den Tid blev Moses født, og han var dejlig for Gud; han blev opfostret i tre Måneder i sin Faders Hus.

Men da han var sat ud, tog Faraos Datter ham op og opfostrede ham til sin Søn.

Og Moses blev oplært i al Ægypternes Visdom; og han var mægtig i sine Ord og Gerninger.

Men da han blev fyrretyve År gammel, fik han i Sinde at besøge sine Brødre, Israels Børn.

Og da han så en lide Uret, forsvarede han ham og hævnede den mishandlede, idet han slog Ægypteren ihjel.

Men han mente, at hans Brødre forstode, at Gud gav dem Frelse ved hans Hånd; men de forstode det ikke.

Da flygtede Moses for denne Tales Skyld og boede som fremmed i Midians Land, hvor han avlede to Sønner.

Og efter fyrretyve Års Forløb viste en Engel sig for ham i Sinai Bjergs Ørken i en Tornebusk, der stod i lys Lue.

Men da Moses så det, undrede han sig over Synet, og da han gik hen for at betragte det, lød Herrens Røst til ham:

Ham var det, som førte dem ud,idet han gjorde Undere og Tegn i Ægyptens Land og i det røde Hav og i Ørkenen i fyrretyve År.

Han er den, som i Menigheden i Ørkenen færdedes med Engelen, der talte til ham på Sinai Bjerg, og med vore Fædre; den, som modtog levende Ord at give os;

hvem vore Fædre ikke vilde adlyde, men de stødte ham fra sig og vendte sig med deres Hjerter til Ægypten, idet de sagde til Aron:

Gør os Guder, som kunne gå foran os; thi vi vide ikke, hvad der er sket med denne Moses, som førte os ud af Ægyptens Land.

Og de gjorde en Kalv i de Dage og bragte Offer til Gudebilledet og frydede sig ved deres Hænders Gerninger.

Vore Fædre i Ørkenen havde Vidnesbyrdets Tabernakel, således som han, der talte til Moses, havde befalet at gøre det efter det Forbillede, som han havde set.

Dette toge også vore Fædre i Arv og bragte det under Josva ind i Landet, som Hedningerne besade, hvilke Gud fordrev fra vore Fædres Åsyn indtil Davids Dage,

som vandt Nåde for Gud og bad om at måtte finde en Bolig for Jakobs Gud.

Men Salomon byggede ham et Hus.

Dog, den Højeste bor ikke i Huse gjorte med Hænder, som Profeten siger:

I hårde Halse og uomskårne på Hjerter og Øren! I stå altid den Helligånd imod; som eders Fædre, således også I.

Hvem af Profeterne er der, som eders Fædre ikke have forfulgt? og de ihjelsloge dem, som forud forkyndte om den retfærdiges Komme, hvis Forrædere og Mordere I nu ere blevne,

Men da de hørte dette, skar det dem i deres Hjerter, og de bede Tænderne sammen imod ham.

Men som han var fuld af den Helligånd, stirrede han op imod Himmelen og så Guds Herlighed og Jesus stående ved Guds højre Hånd.

Men de råbte med høj Røst og holdt for deres Øren og stormede endrægtigt ind på ham.

Og de stødte ham ud uden for Staden og stenede ham. Og Vidnerne lagde deres Klæder af ved en ung Mands Fødder, som hed Saulus.

Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not {so much as} to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when {as yet} he had no child.

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.

And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so {Abraham} begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac {begat} Jacob; and Jacob {begat} the twelve patriarchs.

And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,

And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

And at the second {time} Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to {him}, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,

And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor {the father} of Sychem.

But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months: {exceeding fair: or, fair to God}

And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

And seeing one {of them} suffer wrong, he defended {him}, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not. {For: or, Now}

And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

When Moses saw {it}, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold {it}, the voice of the Lord came unto him,

{Saying}, I {am} the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send {to be} a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. {like...: or, as myself}

This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and {with} our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust {him} from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for {as for} this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

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?

Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen. {speaking: or, who spake}

Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David; {that...: or, having received}

Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon built him an house.

Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

Heaven {is} my throne, and earth {is} my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what {is} the place of my rest?

Hath not my hand made all these things?

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers {did}, so {do} ye.

Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept {it}.

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with {their} teeth.

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

And cast {him} out of the city, and stoned {him}: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon {God}, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.