1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”
2And then Stephen said, “Men, brothers, and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
3And He said to him, “Leave this, your native country, and your relatives, and go into the land that I will show you.”
4So then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans, and settled in Haran until his father died. Then God sent him into this land, in which you are now living.
5And He gave him no inheritance here, no, not even enough to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants would possess the land, even though Abraham, as yet, had no child.
6And God spoke to him in this way, that his descendants would sojourn (be strangers) in another land; where they would be made slaves, and mistreated for four hundred years.
7But God said that He would judge and punish the nation that enslaved them; and after that his descendants shall come out of that land, and serve and worship Him in this place.
8And He gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision; and so, when God blessed Abraham with a son, Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day; and later Isaac had a son, Jacob; and Jacob had twelve sons, the twelve patriarchs.
9And those patriarchs became jealous of their youngest brother, Joseph, and sold him into Egypt. But God was with Joseph,
10And rescued him from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; who made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
11Then there came a famine over all the lands of Egypt and Canaan, and great privation; and our fathers could find no food.
12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time (to get grain).
13And on their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brethren; and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family.
14Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his family - seventy-five souls.
15So Jacob went down into Egypt, where he, and our ancestors, died.
16And were carried over into Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.
17But when the time drew near for the promise, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people had greatly increased in Egypt,
18Until another king arose, who did not know Joseph.
19And he dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to throw out their young newborn babies that they might die.
20At which time Moses was born, and was exceedingly fair, and nourished in his father's house three months;
21And when he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took and nourished him as her own son.
22And Moses was taught in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in speech and action.
23And when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brethren, the people of Israel.
24And when he saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, he intervened, and killed the Egyptian.
25 Moses thought his brethren would have understood how God would deliver them by his hand; but they did not.
26And the next day he came upon two of his people fighting each other, and tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Sirs, you are brethren; why do you want to hurt one another?’
27But the one who the aggressor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
28Will you kill me, like you did the Egyptian yesterday?’
29Then, when Moses heard this, he fled into the land of Midian, where he stayed and had two sons born to him.
30And after staying in Midian forty years, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.
31When Moses saw it, he was amazed; and as he drew near to observe it, the voice of the Lord came to him,
32Saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob’. Then Moses trembled, and did not dare to look.
33Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your shoes (sandals); for the where you are standing is holy ground.
34I have indeed seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back into Egypt.’
35This is the same Moses that they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ The same Moses that God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
36He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
37This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up unto you of your own people a Prophet like me; Him shall you hear.’
38This is he (Moses) that was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; who received the living oracles (words) to give to us;
39This same Moses that our fathers would not obey, but pushed him away from them, and in their hearts wanted to return to Egypt,
40And said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him’.
41And they made an idol in the form of molten calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to it, and reveled in the works of their own hands.
42Then God turned away from them, and gave them over to worship the host of heaven (sun, moon and stars); as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘O house of Israel, have you offered to me sacrifices and offerings those forty years in the wilderness?
43Yea, you took up the tabernacle of Molech, and the star of your god Rephan, idols which you made to worship; and therefore, I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ (Ezek.20:39, Ps.81:12)
44Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness (covenant) in the wilderness, as He had appointed, speaking to Moses, that he should make it according to the pattern that he had seen.
45Which our fathers that came afterward brought with Joshua into battle with the nations, that God drove out before our ancestors, until the days of David;
46Who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
47But it was Solomon who built Him a house.
48Nevertheless, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with man’s hands; as the prophet said,
49‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool; what kind of house will you build Me?’ (1Kings 8:27, Is.66:1) said the Lord; or were will My resting place be?”
50‘Has not My hand made all these things?
51You stiff-necked people! Both your hearts and ears are uncircumcised, like those of your ancestors. You always resist the Holy Spirit!
52Was there ever a prophet that your fathers did not persecute? They have killed the prophets who predicted the coming of the Just One; the same One you have now the betrayed and murdered.
53You who have received the law given by the of angels, and have not obeyed it.”
54When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
55But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly 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, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God”.
57Then they covered their ears; and yelling with a loud voices, they all rushed upon him,
58And dragged him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses (accusers and assailants) laid their coats at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul.
59And they stoned Stephen, who called upon God, and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60And he knelt, and said with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”. And when he had said this, he fell asleep (died). Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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