Acts 7 — GMV

7 Verse 1 Then the high priest said, “Are these accusations true?” ^{Verse 2} Stephen said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, ^{Verse 3} and said to him, ‘Leave yoʋr land and yoʋr relatives, and go to a land I will show yoʋ.’ ^{Verse 4} Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. After his father died, God relocated him to this land in which you now dwell. ^{Verse 5} He gave him no inheritance in it, not even the length of a footstep, but promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child. ^{Verse 6} God told him that his descendants would be sojourners in a foreign land, and that the people of that land would enslave them and mistreat them for four hundred years. ^{Verse 7} ‘But I will judge the nation whom they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and serve me in this place.’ ^{Verse 8} Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. ^{Verse 9} “The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. But God was with him ^{Verse 10} and delivered him out of all his afflictions. He gave Joseph favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, so Pharaoh appointed him as ruler over Egypt and over all his household. ^{Verse 11} Then a famine came upon all the land of Egypt and Canaan, along with great suffering, and our fathers could find no food. ^{Verse 12} But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers out the first time. ^{Verse 13} On their second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. ^{Verse 14} Then Joseph sent and called for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five people in all. ^{Verse 15} So Jacob went down to Egypt, and there he died, he and our fathers. ^{Verse 16} Later their bodies were moved to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. ^{Verse 17} “As the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had sworn to Abraham, our people increased and multiplied in Egypt ^{Verse 18} until there arose another king who did not know Joseph. ^{Verse 19} This king dealt shrewdly with our people and mistreated our fathers, making them abandon their newborn babies so that they would not survive. ^{Verse 20} At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God's sight. For three months he was brought up in his father's house, ^{Verse 21} and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter took him in and brought him up as her own son. ^{Verse 22} So Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in words and deeds. ^{Verse 23} “When Moses reached forty years of age, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. ^{Verse 24} When he saw one of them being wronged, he came to the aid of the man who was being oppressed and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him. ^{Verse 25} Moses assumed that his brothers would understand that God was granting them deliverance by his hand, but they did not understand. ^{Verse 26} The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting and urged them to make peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting each other?’ ^{Verse 27} But the one who was hurting his neighbor thrust Moses aside and said, ‘Who appointed yoʋ to be a ruler and judge over us? ^{Verse 28} Do yoʋ want to kill me as yoʋ killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ ^{Verse 29} At this remark Moses fled and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. ^{Verse 30} “After forty years had passed, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. ^{Verse 31} When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he drew near to look at it, the voice of the Lord came to him: ^{Verse 32} ‘I am the God of yoʋr fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. ^{Verse 33} Then the Lord said to him, ‘Remove the sandals from yoʋr feet, for the place where yoʋ are standing is holy ground. ^{Verse 34} I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send yoʋ to Egypt.’ ^{Verse 35} “This is the same Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who appointed yoʋ to be a ruler and judge?’ He is the one God sent as a ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ^{Verse 36} He is the one who led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. ^{Verse 37} This is the same Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ^{Verse 38} This is the man who was with our fathers in the assembly in the wilderness when the angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. He received living oracles to give to us. ^{Verse 39} Our fathers were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, ^{Verse 40} saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us, for we do not know what has happened to this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt.’ ^{Verse 41} In those days they made an idol in the form of a calf, brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced at the works of their hands. ^{Verse 42} But God turned away from them and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: ^{Verse 43} No! You took up the tabernacle of Molech ^{Verse 44} “Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as God had directed when he spoke to Moses and told him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. ^{Verse 45} Receiving it in turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations whom God drove out from their presence. It remained there until the days of David, ^{Verse 46} who found favor before God and asked if he could provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. ^{Verse 47} But it was Solomon who built a house for him. ^{Verse 48} Yet the Most High does not dwell in temples made by human hands, just as the prophet says, ^{Verse 49} ‘Heaven is my throne, ^{Verse 50} Has not my hand made all these things?’ ^{Verse 51} “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers did, so you do also. ^{Verse 52} Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, ^{Verse 53} you who received the law as ordained by angels yet have not kept it.” ^{Verse 54} When the members of the Sanhedrin heard these things, they were enraged and began gnashing their teeth at him. ^{Verse 55} But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ^{Verse 56} He said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ^{Verse 57} But they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord. ^{Verse 58} Then they drove him out of the city and began stoning him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. ^{Verse 59} They continued stoning Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ^{Verse 60} Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” After saying this, he fell asleep. 05 Acts 07_58.pngspanPublic Domain (Gustave Doré)Then they drove him out of the city and began stoning him.7:58