Acts 7:35-8:4

New American Standard Bible

³⁵“This Moses whom they ^(A)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God ^[a]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the ^[b]help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. ³⁶^(B)This man led them out, performing ^(C)wonders and ^[c]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the ^(D)wilderness for forty years. ³⁷This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘^(E)God will raise up for you a prophet ^[d]like me from your countrymen.’ ³⁸This is the one who was in ^(F)the ^[e]assembly in the wilderness together with ^(G)the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received ^(H)living ^(I)words to pass on to you. ³⁹Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they ^(J)rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, ⁴⁰^(K)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us ^[f]a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ ⁴¹^[g]At that time ^(L)they made a ^[h]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in ^(M)the works of their hands. ⁴²But God ^(N)turned away and gave them over to ^[i]serve the heavenly ^[j]lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘^(O)You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices ^(P)for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel? ⁴³^(Q)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god ^[k]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will deport you beyond Babylon.’

⁴⁴“Our fathers had ^(R)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it ^(S)according to the pattern which he had seen. ⁴⁵Our fathers in turn received it, and they also ^(T)brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the ^[l]nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. ⁴⁶^[m]^(U)David found favor in God’s sight, and ^(V)asked that he might ^[n]find a dwelling place for the ^[o]house of Jacob. ⁴⁷But it was ^(W)Solomon who built a house for Him. ⁴⁸However, ^(X)the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

⁴⁹‘^(Y)Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?
⁵⁰^(Z)Was it not My hand that made all these things?’

⁵¹“You men who are ^(AA)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. ⁵²^(AB)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of ^(AC)the Righteous One, and ^(AD)you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; ⁵³you who received the Law as ^(AE)ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”

Stephen Put to Death

⁵⁴Now when they heard this, they were ^(AF)infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But he, being ^(AG)full of the Holy Spirit, ^(AH)looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(AI)at the right hand of God; ⁵⁶and he said, “Behold, I see the ^(AJ)heavens opened and ^(AK)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one ^[p]mind. ⁵⁸When they had ^(AL)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and ^(AM)the witnesses ^(AN)laid aside their cloaks at the feet of ^(AO)a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹They went on stoning Stephen as he ^(AP)called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰Then he ^(AQ)fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, ^(AR)do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he ^[q]^(AS)fell asleep.

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 ^(AT)Now Saul approved of putting ^[r]Stephen to death.

And on that day a great persecution ^[s]began against ^(AU)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all ^(AV)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and ^(AW)Samaria, except for the apostles. ²Some devout men buried Stephen, and mourned loudly for him. ³But ^(AX)Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and he would ^(AY)drag away men and women and put them in prison.