Acts 7

Stephen’s Speech

1 And the high priest said, "Are these things so?" 2 And Stephen said:

*ch. 22:1"Brothers and fathers, hear me. *[Gen. 15:7;Josh. 24:3;Neh. 9:7] The God *Ps. 29:3;[1 Cor. 2:8;James 2:1] of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, *Gen. 11:31before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, *Cited from Gen. 12:1‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 *[See ver. 2above] Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And *Gen. 11:32after his father died, *Gen. 12:4,5God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised *Gen. 12:7;13:15;15:18;17:8;48:4;Heb. 11:8,9to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, *Gen. 15:3;18:10though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that *Cited from Gen. 15:13,14his offspring would *[Ex. 2:22;Heb. 11:9] be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them *ver. 17;See Ex. 12:40four hundred years. 7 ‘But *[Jer. 25:12;30:20] I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out *[Ex. 3:12]and worship me in this place.’ 8 And *Gen. 17:9-12he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And *Gen. 21:2-4so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and *See Luke 1:59circumcised him on the eighth day, and *Gen. 25:26Isaac became the father of Jacob, and *Gen. 29:31-35;30:5-24;35:18,23-26Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 "And the patriarchs, *Gen. 37:11jealous of Joseph, *Gen. 37:28;45:4;Ps. 105:17sold him into Egypt; but *Gen. 39:2,21,23God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and *Gen. 41:37-40gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, *Gen. 41:41,43,46;42:6;Ps. 105:21who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now *Gen. 41:54,55;42:5;Ps. 105:16there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 *Gen. 42:1-3But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And *Gen. 43:2-15on the second visit *Gen. 45:1-4Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and *Gen. 45:16Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And *Gen. 45:9,10,27Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, *[Gen. 46:26,27;Ex. 1:5;Deut. 10:22]seventy-five persons in all. 15 And *Gen. 46:5,28;Ps. 105:23Jacob went down into Egypt, and *Gen. 49:33he died, he *Ex. 1:6and our fathers, 16 and *Gen. 50:25;Ex. 13:19;Josh. 24:32they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that *[Gen. 23:16with Gen. 33:19;Josh. 24:32]Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 "But *ver. 5-7as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, *ch. 13:17;Ex. 1:7,12;Ps. 105:24the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king *Cited from Ex. 1:8who did not know Joseph. 19 *Ex. 1:9,10;Ps. 105:25He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, *Ex. 1:16-18,22so that they would not be kept alive. 20 *Ex. 2:2;Heb. 11:23At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, 21 and *Ex. 2:3-10when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses *[Dan. 1:4,17] was instructed in *1 Kgs. 4:30;[Isa. 19:11] all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was *[Luke 24:19]mighty in his words and deeds.

23 "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart *Ex. 2:11,12to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 *Ex. 2:13,14And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, *ver. 35;[Luke 12:14]‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort *Ex. 2:15Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, *Ex. 2:22;18:3,4where he became the father of two sons.

30 "Now when forty years had passed, *Ex. 3:2an angel appeared to him *[Ex. 3:1]in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 *Cited from Ex. 3:6‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, *Ex. 3:5;Josh. 5:15‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 *Ex. 3:7I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and *Ex. 2:24have heard their groaning, and *Ex. 3:8I have come down to deliver them. *Ex. 3:10And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 "This Moses, whom they rejected, *ver. 27saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer *[Ex. 3:2;14:19;23:20;Num. 20:16]by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 *Ex. 12:41;33:1;Heb. 8:9This man led them out, performing *Ex. 7:3wonders and signs *Ex. 7–12;Ps. 78:43-51;105:27-36in Egypt and *Ex. 14:21,27-31;Ps. 78:53;106:9at the Red Sea and *Ex. 16:1,35;17:1-6;Ps. 78:15in the wilderness for *ver. 42;ch. 13:18;Ex. 16:35;Num. 14:33,34;Ps. 95:10;Heb. 3:9,17forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you *ch. 3:22;Cited from Deut. 18:15a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one *Ex. 19:3,17,18who was in the congregation in the wilderness with *[ver. 53; Isa. 63:9] the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. *Deut. 5:27,31;33:4;See John 1:17He received *[Deut. 32:47] living *Rom. 3:2;Heb. 5:12;1 Pet. 4:11oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and *Ex. 16:3;Num. 11:4,5;14:3,4;Ezek. 20:8,24in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, *Cited from Ex. 32:1,23‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And *Ex. 32:4-6,35;Deut. 9:16;Ps. 106:19they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and *Amos 6:13were rejoicing in *Isa. 2:8;Jer. 1:16;25:6,7the works of their hands. 42 But *[Josh. 24:20;Isa. 63:10] God turned away and *Ps. 81:12;Ezek. 20:39;Rom. 1:28gave them over to worship *Deut. 4:19;2 Kgs. 17:16;21:3;23:5;Jer. 19:13;Zeph. 1:5the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

*Cited from Amos 5:25-27"‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,

*See ver. 36during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

43 You took up the tent of *See 1 Kgs. 11:7Moloch

and the star of your god Rephan,

the images that you made to worship;

and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

44 "Our fathers had *Rev. 15:5;See Ex. 38:21the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses *See Ex. 25:40directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn *Josh. 3:14-17brought it in with Joshua when they *Num. 32:5;Deut. 32:49dispossessed the nations *ch. 13:19;Josh. 3:10;23:9;24:18;2 Chr. 20:7that God drove out before our fathers. So it was *2 Sam. 7:1until the days of David, 46 *ch. 13:22;1 Sam. 16:1;Ps. 89:19who found favor in the sight of God and *1 Kgs. 8:17;1 Chr. 22:7;Ps. 132:5asked to find a dwelling place for *[Gen. 49:24;Isa. 49:26]the God of Jacob.*7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob47 But it was *2 Sam. 7:13;1 Kgs. 6:1,2;8:20;2 Chr. 3:1Solomon who built a house for him. 48 *[1 Kgs. 8:27;2 Chr. 2:6] Yet the Most High does not dwell *ch. 17:24in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49 *[Ps. 11:4] "‘Heaven is my throne,

*Matt. 5:34,35;Cited from Isa. 66:1,2and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of my rest?

50 Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 *Deut. 10:16;See Ex. 32:9"You stiff-necked people, *Lev. 26:41;Jer. 6:10;9:26;Ezek. 44:7,9uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. *Mal. 3:7As your fathers did, so do you. 52 *1 Kgs. 19:10;2 Chr. 36:16;Jer. 2:30;Matt. 23:31,37;See Matt. 5:12;21:35Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of *See ch. 3:14the Righteous One, *See ch. 5:28whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law *Gal. 3:19;Heb. 2:2;[ver. 38; Deut. 33:2] as delivered by angels and *John 7:19did not keep it."

The Stoning of Stephen

54 Now when they heard these things *ch. 5:33;[ch. 2:37] they were enraged, and they *Job 16:9;Ps. 35:16;37:12ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, *ch. 6:5full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw *Ex. 24:16;Luke 2:9;John 12:41the glory of God, and Jesus standing *Ps. 110:1;See Mark 16:19at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, "Behold, I see *See John 1:51the heavens opened, and *See Dan. 7:13the Son of Man standing *[See ver. 55above]at the right hand of God." 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together*7:57 Or rushed with one mind at him. 58 Then *Lev. 24:14-16;Num. 15:35;1 Kgs. 21:13;[Luke 4:29;Heb. 13:12] they cast him out of the city and *Matt. 21:35;23:37;Heb. 11:37stoned him. And *ch. 6:13;[Deut. 13:9,10;17:7] the witnesses laid down their garments *ch. 8:1;22:20;[ch. 22:4]at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, *ch. 9:14he called out, "Lord Jesus, *Ps. 31:5;Luke 23:46receive my spirit." 60 And *ch. 9:40;20:36;21:5;Luke 22:41;Eph. 3:14falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, *See Matt. 5:44"Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, *See Matt. 27:52he fell asleep.