Acts 7

Modern

Literal

Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

¹Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

¹And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

²And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

²And he began to speak: “Men, brothers and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia before his dwelling in Haran,

³and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’^a

³and He said to him, ‘Go out of your country and from your kindred, and come into the land that I will show to you.’

⁴So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.

⁴Then, having gone out from the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran. And from there, after his father died, He transferred him into this land in which you now dwell.

⁵He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.

⁵And He did not give to him an inheritance in it, not even the length of a foot; but He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him—there being to him no child.

⁶God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

⁶And God spoke thus, that his seed will be a sojourner in a strange land, and they will enslave it and will mistreat it four hundred years.

⁷‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’^a

⁷‘And the nation to which they will be in bondage, I will judge,’ God said, ‘and after these things they will come out and will serve Me in this place.’

⁸Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

⁸And He gave to him the covenant of circumcision; and thus he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

⁹Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him

⁹And the patriarchs, having envied Joseph, sold him into Egypt. And God was with him,

¹⁰and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

¹⁰and He rescued him out of all his tribulations, and He gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his house.

¹¹Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.

¹¹And there was a famine upon all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers were not finding sustenance.

¹²When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit.

¹²Now Jacob, having heard there is grain in Egypt, sent forth our fathers first.

¹³On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to^a his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh.

¹³And on the second time, Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

¹⁴And Joseph, having sent, called for his father Jacob and all his kindred, seventy-five souls in all.

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

¹⁵So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.

¹⁵And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died—he and our fathers,

¹⁶Their bones were carried back^a to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

¹⁶and they were carried over into Shechem and were placed in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

¹⁷As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.

¹⁷Now as the time of the promise that God swore to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt.

¹⁸until there arose another king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.

¹⁹He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

¹⁹Having dealt treacherously with our kindred, this one mistreated our fathers, making them expose their infants, that they would not live.

The Birth and Adoption of Moses

²⁰At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God.^a For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.

²⁰In that time Moses was born (and he was beautiful to God), who was brought up three months in the house of his father.

²¹When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.

²¹And on his having been exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and brought him up for herself for a son.

²²So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

²²And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

²³When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

²³Now when a period of forty years was fulfilled to him, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel.

²⁴And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.

²⁴And having seen a certain one being wronged, he defended and did vengeance for the one being oppressed, having struck down the Egyptian.

²⁵He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.

²⁵And he was supposing his brothers to understand that God is giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

²⁶The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’

²⁶And on the following day, he appeared to those who were quarreling and urged them to peace, having said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another?’

²⁷But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?

²⁷But the one mistreating the neighbor pushed him away, having said, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us?

²⁸Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’^a

²⁸Do you want to kill me the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’

²⁹At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.

²⁹Now at this word Moses fled, and he became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

The Call of Moses

³⁰After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.

³⁰And forty years having been fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire of a bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:

³¹And Moses, having seen, marveled at the vision. And on his coming near to behold, there was the voice of the Lord:

³²‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’^a Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

³²‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses, having become terrified, did not dare to look.

³³Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

³³And the Lord said to him, ‘Loose the sandal of your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.

³⁴I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’^a

³⁴I have surely seen the oppression of My people in Egypt, and I heard their groans, and I came down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’^a is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel^b who appeared to him in the bush.

³⁵This Moses, whom they rejected, having said, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge?’—this one whom God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel having appeared to him in the bush—

³⁶He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.

³⁶this one led them out, having done wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

³⁷This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’^a

³⁷This is the Moses having said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’

³⁸He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.^a

³⁸This is the one having been in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel speaking to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living oracles to give to us,

The Rebellion of Israel

³⁹But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

³⁹to whom our fathers were not willing to be obedient, but pushed away, and they turned back in their hearts to Egypt,

⁴⁰They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’^a

⁴⁰having said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses, who brought us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what happened to him.’

⁴¹At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.

⁴¹And in those days they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and they were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings

forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴²But God turned away and delivered them to worship the host of heaven, as it has been written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you offer slain beasts and sacrifices to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech

and the star of your god Rephan,

the idols you made to worship.

Therefore I will send you into exile

beyond Babylon.’^a

⁴³And you took up the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship them; and I will remove you beyond Babylon.’

The Tabernacle of the Testimony

⁴⁴Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.

⁴⁴The tabernacle of the Testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness, just as the One speaking to Moses had commanded him to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,

⁴⁵And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,

⁴⁵and which, having received it by succession, our fathers brought in with Joshua in taking possession of the nations whom God drove out from the face of our fathers, until the days of David,

⁴⁶who found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.^a

⁴⁶who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.

⁴⁷But Solomon built for Him a house.

⁴⁸However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

⁴⁸But the Most High does not dwell in hand-made houses. As the prophet says:

⁴⁹‘Heaven is My throne

and the earth is My footstool.

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

or where will My place of repose be?

⁴⁹‘Heaven is unto Me a throne, and the earth a footstool for My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest?

⁵⁰Has not My hand made all these things?’^a

⁵⁰Did not My hand make all these things?’

⁵¹You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

⁵¹You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit! As did your fathers, also you do.

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those having foretold about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers,

⁵³you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”

⁵³you who received the law by the ordination of angels, and did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged,^a and they gnashed their teeth at him.

⁵⁴Now hearing these things, they were cut in their hearts, and they were gnashing the teeth at him.

⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

⁵⁵But being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked intently into heaven, he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,

⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁶and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens having been opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

⁵⁷And having cried out in a loud voice, they held their ears and rushed upon him with one accord,

⁵⁸They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁸and having cast him out of the city, they began to stone him. And the witnesses laid aside their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁵⁹And as they were stoning Stephen, he was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

⁶⁰Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

⁶⁰And having fallen on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not place this sin on them.” And having said this, he fell asleep.