7:1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things true?”1 7:2 So he replied,2 “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather3 Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 7:3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your country and from your relatives, and come to the land I will show you.’4 7:4 Then he went out from the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God5 made him move6 to this country where you now live. 7:5 He7 did not give any of it to him for an inheritance,8 not even a foot of ground,9 yet God10 promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him,11 even though Abraham12 as yet had no child. 7:6 But God spoke as follows: ‘Your13 descendants will be foreigners14 in a foreign country, whose citizens will enslave them and mistreat them for four hundred years.15 7:7 But I will punish16 the nation they serve as slaves,’ said God, ‘and after these things they will come out of there17 and worship18 me in this place.’19 7:8 Then God20 gave Abraham21 the covenant22 of circumcision; and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him when he was eight days old,23 and Isaac became the father of24 Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.25 7:9 The26 patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold27 him into Egypt. But28 God was with him, 7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made29 him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 7:11 Then a famine came on all Egypt and Canaan, causing30 great suffering, and our31 ancestors32 could not find food. 7:12 So when Jacob heard that there was grain33 in Egypt, he sent our ancestors34 there35 the first time. 7:13 On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph’s family36 became known to Pharaoh. 7:14 So Joseph sent a message37 and invited38 his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people39 in all. 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt and died there,40 along with our ancestors,41 7:16 and their bones42 were later moved to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a certain sum of money43 from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham,44 the people increased and multiplied45 in Egypt, 7:18 until another king who did not know about46 Joseph ruled47 over Egypt.48 7:19 This was the one who exploited49 our people50 and was cruel to our ancestors,51 forcing them to abandon52 their infants so they would die.53 7:20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful54 to God. For55 three months he was brought up in his father’s house, 7:21 and when he had been abandoned,56 Pharaoh’s daughter adopted57 him and brought him up58 as her own son. 7:22 So Moses was trained59 in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful60 in his words and deeds. 7:23 But when he was about forty years old, it entered his mind61 to visit his fellow countrymen62 the Israelites.63 7:24 When64 he saw one of them being hurt unfairly,65 Moses66 came to his defense67 and avenged the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. 7:25 He thought his own people68 would understand that God was delivering them69 through him,70 but they did not understand.71 7:26 The next day Moses72 saw two men73 fighting, and tried to make peace between74 them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?’ 7:27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed75 Moses76 aside, saying, ‘Who made77 you a ruler and judge over us? 7:28 You don’t want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’78 7:29 When the man said this,79 Moses fled and became a foreigner80 in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
7:30 “After81 forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert82 of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.83 7:31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 7:32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers,84 the God of Abraham, Isaac,85 and Jacob.’86 Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely.87 7:33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.88 7:34 I have certainly seen the suffering89 of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them.90 Now91 come, I will send you to Egypt.’92 7:35 This same93 Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’94 God sent as both ruler and deliverer95 through the hand of the angel96 who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs97 in the land of Egypt,98 at99 the Red Sea, and in the wilderness100 for forty years. 7:37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites,101 ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’102 7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation103 in the wilderness104 with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors,105 and he106 received living oracles107 to give to you.108 7:39 Our109 ancestors110 were unwilling to obey111 him, but pushed him aside112 and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 7:40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt,113 we do not know what has happened to him!’114 7:41 At115 that time116 they made an idol in the form of a calf,117 brought118 a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing119 in the works of their hands.120 7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over121 to worship the host122 of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices123 forty years in the wilderness, was it,124 house of Israel? 7:43 But you took along the tabernacle125 of Moloch126 and the star of your god Rephan,127 the images you made to worship; but I will make you move128 beyond Babylon.’129 7:44 Our ancestors130 had the tabernacle131 of testimony in the wilderness,132 just as God133 who spoke to Moses ordered him134 to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 7:45 Our135 ancestors136 received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors,137 until the time138 of David. 7:46 He139 found favor140 with141 God and asked that he could142 find a dwelling place143 for the house144 of Jacob. 7:47 But Solomon built a house145 for him. 7:48 Yet the Most High146 does not live in houses made by human hands,147 as the prophet says,
7:51 “You stubborn151 people, with uncircumcised152 hearts and ears!153 You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors154 did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors155 not persecute?156 They157 killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One,158 whose betrayers and murderers you have now become!159 7:53 You160 received the law by decrees given by angels,161 but you did not keep it.”162
Stephen is Killed7:54 When they heard these things, they became furious1 and ground their teeth2 at him. 7:55 But Stephen,3 full4 of the Holy Spirit, looked intently5 toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing6 at the right hand of God. 7:56 “Look!” he said,7 “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 7:57 But they covered their ears,8 shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. 7:58 When9 they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him,10 and the witnesses laid their cloaks11 at the feet of a young man called Saul. 7:59 They12 continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 7:60 Then he fell13 to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”14 When15 he had said this, he died.16