topActs 7 prev next
Greek: New Testament (NAS)
English: John Barach
Chapter 7
Stephen’s Defense
The Call of Abraham
1  Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ἀρχιερεύς, εἰ ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχει; 2  ὁ δὲ ἔφη, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοὶ καὶ πατέρες, ἀκούσατε. ὁ θεὸς τῆς δόξης ὤφθη τῷ πατρὶ ἡμῶν Ἀβραὰμ ὄντι ἐν τῇ Μεσοποταμίᾳ πρὶν ἢ κατοικῆσαι αὐτὸν ἐν Χαρρὰν 3  καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν, ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου καὶ [ἐκ] τῆς συγγενείας σου, καὶ δεῦρο εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν ἄν σοι δείξω. {Gen. 12:1}
1Then the high priest asked, “Are these things so?” 2And Stephen said, “Brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ {Gen. 12:1}
4  τότε ἐξελθὼν ἐκ γῆς Χαλδαίων κατῴκησεν ἐν Χαρράν. κἀκεῖθεν μετὰ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ μετῴκισεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν γῆν ταύτην εἰς ἣν ὑμεῖς νῦν κατοικεῖτε, 5  καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ κληρονομίαν ἐν αὐτῇ οὐδὲ βῆμα ποδὸς καὶ ἐπηγγείλατο δοῦναι αὐτῷ εἰς κατάσχεσιν αὐτὴν καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτόν, οὐκ ὄντος αὐτῷ τέκνου. 6  ἐλάλησεν δὲ οὕτως ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ πάροικον ἐν γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ καὶ δουλώσουσιν αὐτὸ καὶ κακώσουσιν ἔτη τετρακόσια· 7  καὶ τὸ ἔθνος ᾧ ἐὰν δουλεύσουσιν κρινῶ ἐγώ, ὁ θεὸς εἶπεν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξελεύσονται καὶ λατρεύσουσίν μοι ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ. {Gen. 15:13-14} 8  καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ διαθήκην περιτομῆς· καὶ οὕτως ἐγέννησεν τὸν Ἰσαὰκ καὶ περιέτεμεν αὐτὸν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ὀγδόῃ, καὶ Ἰσαὰκ τὸν Ἰακώβ, καὶ Ἰακὼβ τοὺς δώδεκα πατριάρχας.
4Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died, God moved him into this land in which you now live. 5Yet He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length of ground; but He promised to give it to him as a possession, and to his offspring after him, even though he had no child. {Gen. 12:7} 6But God spoke in this way: that his offspring would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 7‘And the nation they serve I will judge,’ God said, ‘and after these things they will come out and worship me in this place.’ {Gen. 15:13-14} 8And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of the twelve patriarchs.”
The Story of Joseph
9  Καὶ οἱ πατριάρχαι ζηλώσαντες τὸν Ἰωσὴφ ἀπέδοντο εἰς Αἴγυπτον. καὶ ἦν ὁ θεὸς μετ' αὐτοῦ 10  καὶ ἐξείλατο αὐτὸν ἐκ πασῶν τῶν θλίψεων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ χάριν καὶ σοφίαν ἐναντίον Φαραὼ βασιλέως Αἰγύπτου καὶ κατέστησεν αὐτὸν ἡγούμενον ἐπ' Αἴγυπτον καὶ [ἐφ'] ὅλον τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ. 11  ἦλθεν δὲ λιμὸς ἐφ' ὅλην τὴν Αἴγυπτον καὶ Χανάαν καὶ θλῖψις μεγάλη, καὶ οὐχ ηὕρισκον χορτάσματα οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, 12  ἀκούσας δὲ Ἰακὼβ ὄντα σιτία εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐξαπέστειλεν τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν πρῶτον. 13  καὶ ἐν τῷ δευτέρῳ ἀνεγνωρίσθη Ἰωσὴφ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ φανερὸν ἐγένετο τῷ Φαραὼ τὸ γένος [τοῦ] Ἰωσήφ. 14  ἀποστείλας δὲ Ἰωσὴφ μετεκαλέσατο Ἰακὼβ τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν συγγένειαν ἐν ψυχαῖς ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε. 15  καὶ κατέβη Ἰακὼβ εἰς Αἴγυπτον καὶ ἐτελεύτησεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, 16  καὶ μετετέθησαν εἰς Συχὲμ καὶ ἐτέθησαν ἐν τῷ μνήματι ᾧ ὠνήσατο Ἀβραὰμ τιμῆς ἀργυρίου παρὰ τῶν υἱῶν Ἑμμὼρ ἐν Συχέμ.
9"And the patriarchs, becoming jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him 10and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him governor over Egypt and over his entire household. 11Then a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there on their first visit. 13And on the second visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 14Then Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. 15So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, as did our fathers, 16and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.”
The Rise of Moses in Egypt
17  Καθὼς δὲ ἤγγιζεν ὁ χρόνος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἧς ὡμολόγησεν ὁ θεὸς τῷ Ἀβραάμ, ηὔξησεν ὁ λαὸς καὶ ἐπληθύνθη ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ 18  ἄχρι οὗ ἀνέστη βασιλεὺς ἕτερος [ἐπ' Αἴγυπτον] ὃς οὐκ ᾔδει τὸν Ἰωσήφ. {Ex. 1:7-8} 19  οὗτος κατασοφισάμενος τὸ γένος ἡμῶν ἐκάκωσεν τοὺς πατέρας [ἡμῶν] τοῦ ποιεῖν τὰ βρέφη ἔκθετα αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ μὴ ζῳογονεῖσθαι. 20  ἐν ᾧ καιρῷ ἐγεννήθη Μωϋσῆς καὶ ἦν ἀστεῖος τῷ θεῷ· ὃς ἀνετράφη μῆνας τρεῖς ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρός, 21  ἐκτεθέντος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀνείλατο αὐτὸν ἡ θυγάτηρ Φαραὼ καὶ ἀνεθρέψατο αὐτὸν ἑαυτῇ εἰς υἱόν. 22  καὶ ἐπαιδεύθη Μωϋσῆς [ἐν] πάσῃ σοφίᾳ Αἰγυπτίων, ἦν δὲ δυνατὸς ἐν λόγοις καὶ ἔργοις αὐτοῦ.
17"But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18until there arose another king over Egypt who did not know Joseph. {Ex. 1:7-8} 19He dealt shrewdly with our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so that they would not survive. 20It was at this time that Moses was born, and he was beautiful in God’s sight. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s house; 21and when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up and raised him as her own son. 22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and deeds.”
The Rejection of the First Deliverer
23  Ὡς δὲ ἐπληροῦτο αὐτῷ τεσσερακονταετὴς χρόνος, ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπισκέψασθαι τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς αὐτοῦ τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραήλ. 24  καὶ ἰδών τινα ἀδικούμενον ἠμύνατο καὶ ἐποίησεν ἐκδίκησιν τῷ καταπονουμένῳ πατάξας τὸν Αἰγύπτιον. 25  ἐνόμιζεν δὲ συνιέναι τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς [αὐτοῦ] ὅτι ὁ θεὸς διὰ χειρὸς αὐτοῦ δίδωσιν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῖς· οἱ δὲ οὐ συνῆκαν. 26  τῇ τε ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ ὤφθη αὐτοῖς μαχομένοις καὶ συνήλλασσεν αὐτοὺς εἰς εἰρήνην εἰπών, ἄνδρες, ἀδελφοί ἐστε· ἱνατί ἀδικεῖτε ἀλλήλους; 27  ὁ δὲ ἀδικῶν τὸν πλησίον ἀπώσατο αὐτὸν εἰπών, Τίς σε κατέστησεν ἄρχοντα καὶ δικαστὴν ἐφ' ἡμῶν; 28  μὴ ἀνελεῖν με σὺ θέλεις ὃν τρόπον ἀνεῖλες ἐχθὲς τὸν Αἰγύπτιον; {Ex. 2:13-14} 29  ἔφυγεν δὲ Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ καὶ ἐγένετο πάροικος ἐν γῇ Μαδιάμ, οὗ ἐγέννησεν υἱοὺς δύο.
23"When he was approaching forty years of age, it entered his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended him and avenged the man being oppressed by striking down the Egyptian. 25He assumed his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation through his hand, but they did not understand. 26On the following day, he appeared to them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you wronging one another?’ 27But the one wronging his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? 28Do you want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ {Ex. 2:13-14} 29At this remark, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.”
The Burning Bush and the Commission
30  Καὶ πληρωθέντων ἐτῶν τεσσεράκοντα ὤφθη αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τοῦ ὄρους Σινᾶ ἄγγελος ἐν φλογὶ πυρὸς βάτου. {Ex. 3:2-3} 31  ὁ δὲ Μωϋσῆς ἰδὼν ἐθαύμαζεν τὸ ὅραμα, προσερχομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ κατανοῆσαι ἐγένετο φωνὴ κυρίου, 32  Ἐγὼ ὁ θεὸς τῶν πατέρων σου, ὁ θεὸς Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακώβ. {Ex. 3:6} ἔντρομος δὲ γενόμενος Μωϋσῆς οὐκ ἐτόλμα κατανοῆσαι. 33  εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος, λῦσον τὸ ὑπόδημα τῶν ποδῶν σου, ὁ γὰρ τόπος ἐφ' ᾧ ἕστηκας γῆ ἁγία ἐστίν. 34  ἰδὼν εἶδον τὴν κάκωσιν τοῦ λαοῦ μου τοῦ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ τοῦ στεναγμοῦ αὐτῶν ἤκουσα, καὶ κατέβην ἐξελέσθαι αὐτούς· καὶ νῦν δεῦρο ἀποστείλω σε εἰς Αἴγυπτον. {Ex. 3:5-10}
30"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. {Ex. 3:2-3} 31When Moses saw it, he marveled at the vision; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: 32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ {Ex. 3:6} Moses began to tremble with fear and did not dare to look. 33The Lord said to him, ’Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34I have certainly seen the mistreatment of my people in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’” {Ex. 3:5-10}
Moses: The Pattern of the Rejected Christ
35  Τοῦτον τὸν Μωϋσῆν, ὃν ἠρνήσαντο εἰπόντες, Τίς σε κατέστησεν ἄρχοντα καὶ δικαστήν; {Ex. 2:14} τοῦτον ὁ θεὸς [καὶ] ἄρχοντα καὶ λυτρωτὴν ἀπέσταλκεν σὺν χειρὶ ἀγγέλου τοῦ ὀφθέντος αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ βάτῳ. 36  οὗτος ἐξήγαγεν αὐτοὺς ποιήσας τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ ἐν ἐρυθρᾷ θαλάσσῃ καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἔτη τεσσεράκοντα. 37  οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ Μωϋσῆς ὁ εἶπας τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραήλ, Προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν ὡς ἐμέ. {Deut. 18:15} 38  οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ γενόμενος ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μετὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου τοῦ λαλοῦντος αὐτῷ ἐν τῷ ὄρει Σινᾶ καὶ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν, ὃς ἐδέξατο λόγια ζῶντα δοῦναι ἡμῖν,13
35"This Moses, whom they disowned by saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?’ {Ex. 2:14} —this very man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ {Deut. 18:15} 38This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; he received living oracles to give to us.
39  ᾧ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ὑπήκοοι γενέσθαι οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ ἀπώσαντο καὶ ἐστράφησαν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν εἰς Αἴγυπτον 40  εἰπόντες τῷ Ἀαρών, Ποίησον ἡμῖν θεοὺς οἳ προπορεύσονται ἡμῶν· ὁ γὰρ Μωϋσῆς οὗτος, ὃς ἐξήγαγεν ἡμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου, οὐκ οἴδαμεν τί ἐγένετο αὐτῷ. {Ex. 32:1,23} 41  καὶ ἐμοσχοποίησαν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις καὶ ἀνήγαγον θυσίαν τῷ εἰδώλῳ καὶ εὐφραίνοντο ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν. 42  ἔστρεψεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς λατρεύειν τῇ στρατιᾷ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καθὼς γέγραπται ἐν βίβλῳ τῶν προφητῶν, Μὴ σφάγια καὶ θυσίας προσηνέγκατέ μοι ἔτη τεσσεράκοντα ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οἶκος Ἰσραήλ;
43  καὶ ἀνελάβετε τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ Μόλοχ καὶ τὸ ἄστρον τοῦ θεοῦ [ὑμῶν] Ῥαιφάν, τοὺς τύπους οὓς ἐποιήσατε προσκυνεῖν αὐτοῖς, καὶ μετοικιῶ ὑμᾶς ἐπέκεινα Βαβυλῶνος. {Amos 5:25-27}
39Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; instead, they pushed him away and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us; as for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’ {Ex. 32:1,23}
41They made a calf in those days and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their own hands.
42But God turned away and gave them over to serve the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you offer me victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43You took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images you made to worship. Therefore, I will deport you beyond Babylon.’” {Amos 5:25-27}
The Tabernacle vs. The Temple
44  Ἡ σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου ἦν τοῖς πατράσιν ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ καθὼς διετάξατο ὁ λαλῶν τῷ Μωϋσῇ ποιῆσαι αὐτὴν κατὰ τὸν τύπον ὃν ἑωράκει· 45  ἣν καὶ εἰσήγαγον διαδεξάμενοι οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν μετὰ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῇ κατασχέσει τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὧν ἐξῶσεν ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ἕως τῶν ἡμερῶν Δαυίδ, 46  ὃς εὗρεν χάριν ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ᾐτήσατο εὑρεῖν σκήνωμα τῷ οἴκῳ16 Ἰακώβ. 47  Σολομῶν δὲ οἰκοδόμησεν αὐτῷ οἶκον. 48  ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ ὕψιστος ἐν χειροποιήτοις κατοικεῖ, καθὼς ὁ προφήτης λέγει, 49  Ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου· ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι, λέγει κύριος, ἢ τίς τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου;
50  οὐχὶ ἡ χείρ μου ἐποίησεν ταῦτα πάντα; {Isa. 66:1-2}
44"Our fathers had the Tabernacle of Testimony in the wilderness, just as the One speaking to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. 45Our fathers in turn received it and brought it in with Joshua when they took possession of the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the days of David. 46He found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob. 47But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. 48However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says: 49‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is a footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50Did not my hand make all these things?’” {Isa. 66:1-2}
The Final Indictment
51  Σκληροτράχηλοι καὶ ἀπερίτμητοι καρδίαις καὶ τοῖς ὠσίν, ὑμεῖς ἀεὶ τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτετε ὡς οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν καὶ ὑμεῖς. 52  τίνα τῶν προφητῶν οὐκ ἐδίωξαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν; καὶ ἀπέκτειναν τοὺς προκαταγγείλαντας περὶ τῆς ἐλεύσεως τοῦ δικαίου, οὗ νῦν ὑμεῖς προδόται καὶ φονεῖς ἐγένεσθε, 53  οἵτινες ἐλάβετε τὸν νόμον εἰς διαταγὰς ἀγγέλων καὶ οὐκ ἐφυλάξατε.
51"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; just as your fathers did, so do you. 52Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become— 53you who received the law as ordained by angels and yet did not keep it!”
The Vision and the Fury
54  Ἀκούοντες δὲ ταῦτα διεπρίοντο ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν καὶ ἔβρυχον τοὺς ὀδόντας ἐπ' αὐτόν. 55  ὑπάρχων δὲ πλήρης πνεύματος ἁγίου ἀτενίσας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἶδεν δόξαν θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦν ἑστῶτα ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ θεοῦ 56  καὶ εἶπεν, ἰδοὺ θεωρῶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς διηνοιγμένους καὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ δεξιῶν ἑστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ. 57  κράξαντες δὲ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ συνέσχον τὰ ὦτα αὐτῶν καὶ ὥρμησαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐπ' αὐτὸν
54Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the quick in their hearts and began gnashing their teeth at him. 55But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56And he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57But they, crying out with a loud voice, covered their ears and rushed at him with one mind.
The Stoning of Stephen
58  καὶ ἐκβαλόντες ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ἐλιθοβόλουν. καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες ἀπέθεντο τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν παρὰ τοὺς πόδας νεανίου καλουμένου Σαύλου, 59  καὶ ἐλιθοβόλουν τὸν Στέφανον ἐπικαλούμενον καὶ λέγοντα, κύριε Ἰησοῦ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου. 60  θεὶς δὲ τὰ γόνατα ἔκραξεν φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, κύριε, μὴ στήσῃς αὐτοῖς ταύτην τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ἐκοιμήθη.
58After they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him. And the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60Then falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And after saying this, he fell asleep.