1And the high priest said, “Is this so?”

2And he replied, “Men, brothers and fathers, listen: The Elohim of esteem appeared to our father Aḇraham when he was in Aram Naharayim, before he dwelt in Ḥaran,

3and said to him, ‘Come out of your land and from your relatives, and come here, into a land that I shall show you.’

4“Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Ḥaran. And from there, after the death of his father, He removed him to this land in which you now dwell.

5“And He gave him no inheritance in it, not a foot of it. But He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

6“And Elohim spoke in this way: that his seed would be sojourning in a foreign land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

7‘And the nation to whom they shall be enslaved, I shall judge,’ said Elohim, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’

8“And He gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so he brought forth Yitsḥaq and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Yitsḥaq brought forth Ya‛aqoḇ, and Ya‛aqoḇ brought forth the twelve ancestors.

9“And the ancestors, becoming jealous, sold Yosĕph into Mitsrayim. But Elohim was with him,

10and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom before Pharaoh, sovereign of Mitsrayim. And he appointed him governor over Mitsrayim and all his house.

11“Then a scarcity of food and great distress came over all the land of Mitsrayim and Kena‘an, and our fathers found no food.

12“But Ya‛aqoḇ heard that there was grain in Mitsrayim, and he sent out our fathers the first time,

13and at the second time Yosĕph was made known to his brothers, and Yosĕph’s race became known to the Pharaoh.

14“And Yosĕph sent and called his father Ya‛aqoḇ and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.

15“And Ya‛aqoḇ went down to Mitsrayim, and died, he and our fathers,

16and they were brought over to Sheḵem and laid in the tomb that Aḇraham bought for a price of silver from the sons of Ḥamor, the father of Sheḵem.

17“But as the time of the promise drew near which Elohim had sworn to Aḇraham, the people increased and multiplied in Mitsrayim

18until another sovereign arose who did not know Yosĕph.

19“Having dealt treacherously with our race, this one mistreated our fathers, making them expose their babies, so that they should not live.

20“At that time Mosheh was born, and he was well-pleasing to Elohim. And he was reared three months in the house of his father.

21“But when he was exposed, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up and reared him as her own son.

22“And Mosheh was instructed in all the wisdom of the Mitsrites, and was mighty in words and works.

23“And when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Yisra’ĕl.

24“And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended and revenged him who was oppressed, smiting the Mitsrite.

25“And he thought that his brothers would have understood that Elohim would give deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand.

26“And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and urged them to peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why do you wrong one another?’

27“But he who was wronging his neighbour pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

28‘Do you wish to kill me as you killed the Mitsrite yesterday?’

29“And at this saying, Mosheh fled and became a sojourner in the land of Miḏyan, where he fathered two sons.

30“And after forty years were completed, a Messenger of יהוה appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.

31“And Mosheh, seeing it, marvelled at the sight, and coming near to look, the voice of יהוה came to him,

32saying, ‘I am the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Aḇraham and the Elohim of Yitsḥaq and the Elohim of Ya‛aqoḇ.’ And Mosheh trembled and did not have the courage to look.

33‘But יהוה said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is set-apart ground.

34“I have certainly seen the evil treatment of my people who are in Mitsrayim, and I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, let Me send you to Mitsrayim.” ’

35“This Mosheh whom they had refused, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ – this one Elohim sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Messenger who appeared to him in the bush.

36“This one led them out, after he had done wonders and signs in the land of Mitsrayim, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

37“This is the Mosheh who said to the children of Yisra’ĕl, ‘יהוה your Elohim shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear.’

38“This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the Messenger who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living Words to give to us,

39unto whom our fathers would not become obedient, but thrust away, and in their hearts they turned back to Mits-rayim,

40saying to Aharon, ‘Make us mighty ones to go before us, for this Mosheh who led us out of the land of Mitsrayim, we do not know what has become of him.’

41“And they made a calf in those days, and brought an offering to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their own hands.

42“So Elohim turned and gave them up to worship the host of the heaven, as it has been written in the book of the Prophets, ‘Did you bring slaughtered beasts and offerings unto Me during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Yisra’ĕl?

43‘And you took up the tent of Moleḵ, and the star of your mighty one Kiyyun, images which you made to bow before them. Therefore I shall remove you beyond Baḇel.’

44“The Tent of Witness was with our fathers in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Mosheh to make it according to the pattern that he had seen,

45which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Yehoshua into the land possessed by the gentiles, whom Elohim drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of Dawiḏ,

46who found favour before Elohim and asked to find a dwelling for the Elohim of Ya‛aqoḇ,

47but Shelomoh built Him a house.

48“However, the Most High does not dwell in dwellings made with hands,a as the prophet says:

49‘The heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house shall you build for Me? says יהוה, or what is the place of My rest?

50‘Has My hand not made all these?’

51“You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Set-apart Spirit, as your fathers did, you also do.

52“Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who before announced the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,

53who received the Torah as it was ordained by messengers, but did not watch over it.”a

54And hearing this they were cut to the hearts and gnashed the teeth at him.

55But he, being filled with the Set-apart Spirit, looked steadily into the heaven and saw the esteem of Elohim, and יהושע standing at the right hand of Elohim,

56and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Aḏam standing at the right hand of Elohim!”

57And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one mind,

58and threw him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Sha’ul.

59And they were stoning Stephanos as he was calling and saying, “Master יהושע, receive my spirit.”

60And kneeling down he cried out with a loud voice, “Master, do not hold this sin against them.” And having said this, he fell asleep.