Acts 7
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 7
Stephen’s Discourse. 1 Then the high priest asked him, “Are these things true?” 2 He replied, “Brethren and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.’
4 “Therefore, he departed from the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And after his father died, God led him to the land where you now dwell. 5 He did not give him any of this land as a heritage, not even as little as a foot, but he promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, even though he was childless.
6 “This is what God said: ‘His descendants will reside in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years. 7 But I will bring judgment on the nation that enslaved them,’ God said, ‘and after that they will come out and worship me in this place.’ 8 Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so, when he became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day, as Isaac did for Jacob, and Jacob did for the twelve patriarchs.
9 “The patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and they sold him into Egypt, but God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions. He gave Joseph wisdom and the favor of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, who appointed him governor of Egypt and his entire household.
11 “Then a severe famine struck all of Egypt and Canaan, causing severe affliction, and our ancestors could find no food. 12 However, when Jacob learned that there was grain available in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit. 13 During their second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and his ancestry became known to Pharaoh. 14 Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his entire family, seventy-five people in all.
15 “Jacob migrated to Egypt, and after he and our ancestors had died there, 16 they were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had purchased from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a sum of money.
17 “When the time of the promise that God had pledged to Abraham drew near, our people in Egypt had greatly increased in number. 18 Then a new king came to power who had never heard of Joseph. 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they could not survive.
20 “It was at this time that Moses was born, who was pleasing to God. For three months he was nursed in his father’s house, 21 but after he had been abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful both in word and in deed.
23 “When he was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow countrymen, the children of Israel. 24 When he saw one of them being maltreated, he went to his aid and avenged the victim by slaying the Egyptian. 25 He thought that his brethren would realize that God was offering them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.
26 “The next day, he came upon two of them fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren! Why are you trying to hurt one another?’ 27 But the man who had wronged his neighbor pushed him aside, saying, ‘Who appointed you to be our ruler and judge? 28 Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 Moses fled when he heard this, and he dwelt as an alien in Midian and became the father of two sons.
30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert near Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed, and as he approached to examine it, the voice of the Lord said to him, 32 ‘I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’
“Moses was terrified and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 34 I have seen the oppression of my people in Egypt and have heard their sighs, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come! I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses whom they rejected by saying ‘Who appointed you to be our ruler and judge?’ God now sent forth as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the desert. 37 It was this Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you, from your own people, a prophet like me.’ 38 It was he who was in the assembly in the desert with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and with our ancestors, and who received words of life to hand on to us.
39 “This is the man whom our ancestors refused to obey. Instead they thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make gods for us who will lead us on the way. As for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’
41 “It was then that they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced over the work of their hands. 42 So God turned away from them and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:
‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
during those forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?
43 No, you carried aloft the tent of Moloch
and the star of your god Rephan,
the images that you had made to worship.
And so I shall send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44 “While they were in the desert, our ancestors had the Tent of Testimony, as God commanded when he directed Moses to make it according to the pattern he had been shown. 45 Our ancestors with Joshua brought it with them when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. It remained there until the time of David, 46 who found favor with God and desired to provide a dwelling for the God of Jacob.
47 “However, it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands. As the prophet says,
49 ‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house can you build for me? asks the Lord.
Where shall my resting place be?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’
51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. 52 Was there ever a prophet whom your fathers did not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. 53 You received the Law through God’s angels, and yet you have not observed it.”
54 Stephen’s Martyrdom. When they heard this, they became enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand. 56 “Look!” he cried. “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 On hearing these words, they covered their ears, cried out loudly, and rushed en masse against him. 58 Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.[a]
59 While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed aloud, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out in a clear voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And with these words he fell asleep.
Footnotes
- Acts 7:58 Saul: i.e., Paul, the future apostle, who is here mentioned for the first time; see Acts 22:20.
使徒行传 7
Revised Chinese Union Version (Simplified Script) Shen Edition
司提反当众申诉
7 大祭司说：“果真有这些事吗？” 2 司提反说：“诸位父老弟兄请听！从前我们的祖宗亚伯拉罕在美索不达米亚，还没有住在哈兰的时候，荣耀的 神向他显现， 3 对他说：‘你要离开本地和亲族，往我所要指示你的地去。’ 4 他就离开迦勒底人的地方，住在哈兰。他父亲死了以后， 神使他从那里搬到你们现在所住的地方。 5 在这里 神并没有给他产业，连立足的地方都没有，但应许要将这地赐给他和他的后裔为业，虽然那时他还没有儿子。 6 神这样说：‘他的后裔必寄居外邦，那里的人要使他们作奴隶，苦待他们四百年。’ 7 神又说：‘但我要惩罚使他们作奴隶的那国。以后他们要出来，在这地方事奉我。’ 8 神又赐他割礼的约。于是亚伯拉罕生了以撒，在第八日给他行了割礼；后来以撒生雅各，雅各生十二位先祖。
9 “先祖嫉妒约瑟，把他卖到埃及去， 神却与他同在， 10 救他脱离一切苦难，又使他在埃及王法老面前蒙恩，又有智慧。法老派他作埃及国的宰相兼管法老的全家。 11 后来全埃及和迦南遭遇饥荒和大灾难，我们的祖宗绝了粮。 12 雅各听见在埃及有粮，就打发我们的祖宗初次往那里去。 13 第二次约瑟与兄弟们相认，法老才认识他的家族。 14 约瑟就打发人，请父亲雅各和全族七十五个人都来。 15 于是雅各下了埃及，后来他和我们的祖宗都死在那里； 16 他们又被迁到示剑，葬于亚伯拉罕在示剑用银子从哈抹子孙[a]买来的坟墓里。
17 “当 神应许亚伯拉罕的日期将到的时候，以色列人在埃及人丁兴旺， 18 直到另一位不认识约瑟的王兴起统治埃及[b]。 19 他用诡计待我们的宗族，苦待我们的祖宗，强迫他们丢弃婴孩，使婴孩不能存活。 20 就在那时，摩西生了下来， 神看为俊美，在父亲家里被抚养了三个月。 21 他被丢弃的时候，法老的女儿拾了去，当自己的儿子抚养。 22 摩西学了埃及人一切的学问，说话办事都有才能。
23 “他到了四十岁，心中起意去看望他的弟兄以色列人。 24 他见他们中的一个人受冤屈，就庇护他，为那被压迫的人报仇，打死了那埃及人。 25 他以为他的弟兄们必明白 神是藉他的手搭救他们，他们却不明白。 26 第二天，他遇见有人在打架，就想劝他们和好，说：‘二位，你们是弟兄，为什么彼此欺负呢？’ 27 那欺负邻舍的人把他推开，说：‘谁立你作我们的领袖和审判官呢？ 28 难道你要杀我像昨天杀那埃及人一样吗？’ 29 摩西听见这话就逃走了，寄居于米甸地，在那里生了两个儿子。
30 “过了四十年，在西奈山的旷野，有一位天使在荆棘的火焰中向摩西显现。 31 摩西见了那异象，觉得很惊讶，正往前观看的时候，有主的声音说： 32 ‘我是你列祖的 神，就是亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各的 神。’摩西战战兢兢，不敢观看。 33 主对他说：‘把你脚上的鞋脱下来，因为你所站的地方是圣地。 34 我的百姓在埃及所受的困苦，我确实看见了；他们悲叹的声音，我也听见了。我下来要救他们。现在，你来，我要差你往埃及去。’
35 “这摩西就是有人曾弃绝他说‘谁立你作我们的领袖和审判官’的， 神却藉那在荆棘中显现的天使的手差派他作领袖，作解救者。 36 这人领以色列人出来，在埃及地，在红海，在旷野的四十年间行了奇事神迹。 37 这人是摩西，就是那曾对以色列人说‘ 神要从你们弟兄中给你们兴起一位先知像我’的。 38 这人是那曾在旷野的会众中和西奈山上，与那对他说话的天使同在，又与我们祖宗同在的，他领受了活泼的圣言传给我们。 39 我们的祖宗不肯听从，反弃绝他，他们的心转向埃及， 40 对亚伦说：‘你为我们造神明，在我们前面引路，因为领我们出埃及地的这个摩西，我们不知道他遭遇了什么事。’ 41 那时，他们造了一个牛犊，又拿祭物献给那像，为自己手所做的工作欢跃。 42 但是 神转脸不顾，任凭他们祭拜天上的日月星辰，正如先知书上所写的：
‘以色列家啊，你们四十年间在旷野，
何曾将牺牲和祭物献给我？
43 你们抬着摩洛的帐幕
和理番—你们神明的星，
就是你们所造为要敬拜的像。
因此，我要把你们迁到巴比伦外去。’
44 “我们的祖宗在旷野，有作证的会幕，是 神吩咐摩西照着他所看见的样式做的。 45 这帐幕，我们的祖宗同约书亚相继承受了，当 神在他们面前赶走外邦人的时候，他们把这帐幕搬进承受为业之地，直存到大卫的日子。 46 大卫在 神面前蒙恩，祈求为雅各的家[c]预备居所。 47 但却是所罗门为 神造成殿宇。 48 其实，至高者并不住人手所造的，就如先知所言：
49 ‘主说：天是我的宝座，
地是我的脚凳。
你们要为我造怎样的殿宇？
哪里是我安歇的地方呢？
50 这一切不都是我手所造的吗？’
51 “你们这硬着颈项，心与耳未受割礼的人哪，时常抗拒圣灵！你们的祖宗怎样，你们也怎样。 52 先知中有哪一个不是受你们祖宗的迫害呢？他们把预先宣告那义者要来的人杀了。如今你们成了那义者的出卖者和凶手了。 53 你们领受了天使所传布的律法，竟不遵守。”
众人用石头打死司提反
54 众人听见这些话，心中极其恼怒，向司提反咬牙切齿。 55 但司提反满有圣灵，定睛望天，看见 神的荣耀，又看见耶稣站在 神的右边， 56 就说：“我看见天开了，人子站在 神的右边。” 57 众人大声喊叫，捂着耳朵，齐心冲向他， 58 把他推到城外，用石头打他。作见证的人把他们的衣裳放在一个名叫扫罗的青年脚前。 59 他们正用石头打司提反的时候，他呼求说：“主耶稣啊，求你接纳我的灵魂！” 60 然后他跪下来，大声喊着：“主啊，不要将这罪归于他们！”说了这话，就长眠了。
Acts 7
King James Version
7 Then said the high priest, Are these things so?
2 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,
3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
4 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.
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
10 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.
11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
16 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.
17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
19 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.
20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:
21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
26 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?
27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
30 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.
31 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,
32 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.
33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
34 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.
35 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.
36 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.
37 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.
38 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:
39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
40 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.
41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
42 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?
43 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.
44 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.
45 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;
46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
47 But Solomon built him an house.
48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
49 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?
50 Hath not my hand made all these things?
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 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:
53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
55 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,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
58 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.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 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.
Acts 7
Easy-to-Read Version
Stephen’s Speech
7 The high priest said to Stephen, “Is all this true?” 2 Stephen answered, “My Jewish fathers and brothers, listen to me. Our great and glorious God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, when he was in Mesopotamia. This was before he lived in Haran. 3 God said to him, ‘Leave your country and your people, and go to the country I will show you.’[a]
4 “So Abraham left the country of Chaldea.[b] He went to live in Haran. After his father died, God sent him to this place, where you live now. 5 But God did not give Abraham any of this land, not even a foot of it. But God promised that in the future he would give Abraham this land for himself and for his children. This was before Abraham had any children.
6 “This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will live in another country. They will be strangers. The people there will make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7 But I will punish the nation that made them slaves.’[c] And God also said, ‘After those things happen, your people will come out of that country. Then they will worship me here in this place.’[d]
8 “God made an agreement with Abraham; the sign for this agreement was circumcision. And so when Abraham had a son, he circumcised him when he was eight days old. His son’s name was Isaac. Isaac also circumcised his son Jacob. And Jacob did the same for his sons, who became the twelve great ancestors of our people.
9 “These ancestors of ours became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him 10 and saved him from all his troubles. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt then. He liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. Pharaoh gave Joseph the job of being a governor of Egypt. He even let him rule over all the people in Pharaoh’s house. 11 But all the land of Egypt and of Canaan became dry. It became so dry that food could not grow, and the people suffered very much. Our people could not find anything to eat.
12 “But Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt. So he sent our people there. This was their first trip to Egypt. 13 Then they went there a second time. This time Joseph told his brothers who he was. And Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Then Joseph sent some men to tell Jacob, his father, to come to Egypt. He also invited all his relatives, a total of 75 people. 15 So Jacob went down to Egypt. He and our other ancestors lived there until they died. 16 Later, their bodies were moved to Shechem, where they were put in a tomb. It was the same tomb that Abraham had bought in Shechem from the sons of Hamor. He paid them with silver.
17 “The number of our people in Egypt grew. There were more and more of our people there. The promise that God made to Abraham was soon to come true. 18 Then a different king began to rule Egypt, one who knew nothing about Joseph. 19 This king tricked our people. He treated them badly, making them leave their children outside to die.
20 “This was the time when Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him at home. 21 When they put him outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him. She raised him as her own son. 22 The Egyptians taught Moses everything they knew. He was powerful in all he said and did.
23 “When Moses was about 40 years old, he decided to visit his own people, the people of Israel. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he defended him. Moses hit the Egyptian to pay him back for hurting the man. He hit him so hard that it killed him. 25 Moses thought that his people would understand that God was using him to save them. But they did not understand.
26 “The next day, Moses saw two of his own people fighting. He tried to make peace between them. He said, ‘Men, you are brothers! Why are you trying to hurt each other?’ 27 The man who was hurting the other one pushed Moses away and said to him, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge? 28 Will you kill me just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’[e] 29 When Moses heard him say this, he left Egypt. He went to live in the land of Midian, where he was a stranger. During the time he lived there, he had two sons.
30 “Forty years later Moses was in the desert near Mount Sinai. An angel appeared to him in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw this, he was amazed. He went near to look closer at it. He heard a voice; it was the Lord’s. 32 The Lord said, ‘I am the same God your ancestors had—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[f] Moses began to shake with fear. He was afraid to look at the bush.
33 “The Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, because the place where you are now standing is holy ground. 34 I have seen my people suffer much in Egypt. I have heard my people crying and have come down to save them. Come now, Moses, I am sending you back to Egypt.’[g]
35 “This Moses was the one his people said they did not want. They said, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge?’[h] But he is the one God sent to be a ruler and savior. God sent him with the help of an angel, the one Moses saw in the burning bush. 36 So Moses led the people out of Egypt. He worked wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and then in the desert for 40 years.
37 “This is the same Moses who said these words to the people of Israel: ‘God will give you a prophet. That prophet will come from among your own people. He will be like me.’[i] 38 This same Moses was with the gathering of God’s people in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and he was with our ancestors. He received life-giving words from God to give to us.
39 “But our ancestors did not want to obey Moses. They rejected him. They wanted to go back to Egypt again. 40 They said to Aaron, ‘Moses led us out of the country of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him. So make some gods to go before us and lead us.’[j] 41 So the people made an idol that looked like a calf. Then they brought sacrifices to it. They were very happy with what they had made with their own hands. 42 But God turned against them and let them continue worshiping the army of false gods in the sky. This is what God says in the book that contains what the prophets wrote:
‘People of Israel, you did not bring me blood offerings and sacrifices
in the desert for 40 years;
43 You carried with you the tent for worshiping Moloch
and the image of the star of your god Rephan.
These were the idols you made to worship.
So I will send you away beyond Babylon.’ (A)
44 “The Holy Tent[k] was with our ancestors in the desert. God told Moses how to make this tent. He made it like the plan that God showed him. 45 Later, Joshua led our ancestors to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in and God made the other people go out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same tent. Our people received this tent from their fathers, and our people kept it until the time of David. 46 God was very pleased with David. He asked God to let him build a Temple for the people of Jacob.[l] 47 But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.
48 “But the Most High God does not live in houses built by human hands. This is what the prophet[m] writes:
49 ‘The Lord says, Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is where I rest my feet.
So do you think you can build a house for me?
Do I need a place to rest?
50 Remember, I made all these things!’” (B)
51 Then Stephen said, “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You refuse to give your hearts to God or even listen to him. You are always against what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. That’s how your ancestors were, and you are just like them! 52 They persecuted every prophet who ever lived. They even killed those who long ago said that the Righteous One would come. And now you have turned against that Righteous One and killed him. 53 You are the people who received God’s law, which he gave you through his angels. But you don’t obey it!”
Stephen Is Killed
54 When those in the council meeting heard this, they became very angry. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side. 56 Stephen said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”
57 Everyone there started shouting loudly, covering their ears with their hands. Together they all ran at Stephen. 58 They took him out of the city and began throwing stones at him. The men who told lies against Stephen gave their coats to a young man named Saul. 59 As they were throwing the stones at him, Stephen was praying. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He fell on his knees and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for this sin!” These were his last words before he died.
Footnotes
- Acts 7:3 Quote from Gen. 12:1.
- Acts 7:4 Chaldea Or “Babylonia,” a land in the southern part of Mesopotamia. See verse 2.
- Acts 7:7 Quote from Gen. 15:13-14.
- Acts 7:7 Quote from Gen. 15:14; Ex. 3:12.
- Acts 7:28 Quote from Ex. 2:14.
- Acts 7:32 Quote from Ex. 3:6.
- Acts 7:34 Quote from Ex. 3:5-10.
- Acts 7:35 Quote from Ex. 2:14.
- Acts 7:37 Quote from Deut. 18:15.
- Acts 7:40 Quote from Ex. 32:1.
- Acts 7:44 Holy Tent Literally, “Tent of the Testimony.” See “ Holy Tent” in the Word List.
- Acts 7:46 for the people of Jacob Some Greek copies have “for the God of Jacob.”
- Acts 7:48 prophet Isaiah, who spoke for God about 740–700 B.C.
和合本修訂版經文 © 2006, 2010, 2017 香港聖經公會。蒙允許使用。 Scripture Text of Revised Chinese Union Version © 2006, 2010, 2017 Hong Kong Bible Society. www.hkbs.org.hk/en/ Used by permission.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International