⁸ See, I have made your face hard against their faces and your forehead hard against their foreheads.

¹⁸ And I for my part have made you today a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land.^(A)

³² And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,^{(A) 34} quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.^{(B) 35} Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.^{(C) 36} Others suffered mocking and flogging and even chains and imprisonment.^{(D) 37} They were stoned to death; they were sawn in two;^[a] they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented^(E)—

²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered as though^[a] he saw him who is invisible.

⁵¹ “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.^{(A) 52} Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.^{(B) 53} You are the ones who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it.”^(C)

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.^{[a] 55} But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.^{(D) 56} “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”^(E)

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you. Because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord,^(A)