| International Standard Version | English Standard Version |
| 1Then the high priest asked, "Is this true?" | 1And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” |
| 2Stephen replied: "Listen, brothers and fathers! "The glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. | 2And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, |
| 3God told him, 'Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land I'll show you.' | 3and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ |
| 4So he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. Then after the death of his father, God had him move to this country where you now live. | 4Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. |
| 5God gave him no property here, not even a foot of land, yet he promised to give it to him and to his descendants after him as a permanent possession, even though he had no child. | 5Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. |
| 6"This is what God promised: His descendants would be strangers in a foreign country, and its people would enslave them and oppress them for 400 years. | 6And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. |
| 7But I will punish the nation they serve,' said God, 'and afterwards they will leave and worship me in this place.' | 7‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ |
| 8Later, God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. Later, he fathered Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. Then Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered the twelve patriarchs. | 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 of the twelve patriarchs. |
| 9"Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him | 9“And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him |
| 10and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler of Egypt and of his whole household. | 10and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. |
| 11"But a famine spread throughout Egypt and Canaan, and with it great suffering, and our ancestors couldn't find any food. | 11Now there came a famine throughout 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 ancestors on their first trip. | 12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. |
| 13On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph introduced his family to Pharaoh. | 13And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. |
| 14Then Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him in Egypt —75 persons in all. | 14And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. |
| 15So Jacob went down to Egypt. Then he and our ancestors died. | 15And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, |
| 16They were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought at a high price from Hamor's descendants in Shechem. | 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. |
| 17"Now as the time approached for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people's population increased a great deal in Egypt. | 17“But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt |
| 18Eventually, a different king who had not known Joseph became ruler of Egypt. | 18until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. |
| 19By shrewdly scheming against our people, he oppressed our ancestors and forced them to abandon their infants to the elements, so that they wouldn't live. | 19He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. |
| 20"At this time Moses was born. He was beautiful in the sight of God, and for three months he was cared for in his father's house. | 20At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house, |
| 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. | 21and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. |
| 22So Moses learned all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a great man, both in words and in deeds. | 22And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. |
| 23"When he was 40 years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the descendants of Israel. | 23“When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. |
| 24When he saw one of them being mistreated, he defended him and avenged the man who was being mistreated by killing the Egyptian. | 24And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. |
| 25He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was using him to rescue them, but they didn't understand. | 25He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. |
| 26The next day, he presented himself to some of them while they were fighting and tried to reconcile them. He said, 'Men, you are brothers. Why should you be hurting another?' | 26And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ |
| 27"But the man who was harming his neighbor pushed Moses away and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? | 27But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? |
| 28You don't want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?' | 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ |
| 29Because of this, Moses fled and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There he had two sons. | 29At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. |
| 30"After 40 years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. | 30“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. |
| 31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached the bush to look at it, the voice of the Lord said, | 31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: |
| 32I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses became terrified and didn't dare to look. | 32‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. |
| 33Then the Lord told him, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. | 33Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. |
| 34I have surely seen the oppression of my people in Egypt, I've heard their groans, and I've come down to rescue them. Now come, I'll send you to Egypt.' | 34I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ |
| 35"This same Moses—whom they rejected by saying, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' —was the man whom God sent to be both their ruler and deliverer with the help of the angel who had appeared to him in the bush. | 35“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. |
| 36It was he who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for 40 years. | 36This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. |
| 37It was this Moses who told the Israelis, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from among your own brothers, just as he did me.' | 37This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ |
| 38This Moses is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai and to our ancestors. He received living truths to give to us, | 38This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. |
| 39but our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and wished to return to Egypt. | 39Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, |
| 40They told Aaron, 'Make gods for us who will lead us. This Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we don't know what happened to him!' | 40saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ |
| 41"At that time they even made a calf to be their idol, offered a sacrifice to it, and delighted in what they had made with their hands. | 41And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. |
| 42So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the heavenly bodies. As it is written in the book of the Prophets: 'O house of Israel, you didn't offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices those 40 years in the wilderness, did you? | 42But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? |
| 43You even took along the tent of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made in order to worship them. So I will take you into exile as far as Babylon.' | 43You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ |
| 44"Our ancestors had the Tent of Testimony in the wilderness constructed, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen. | 44“Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. |
| 45Our ancestors brought it here with Joshua when they replaced the nations that God drove out in front of our ancestors, and it was here until the time of David. | 45Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, |
| 46He found favor with God and asked to design a dwelling for the house of Jacob, | 46who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. |
| 47but it was Solomon who built a house for him. | 47But it was Solomon who built a house for him. |
| 48However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says, | 48Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, |
| 49"'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for me,' declares the Lord, "or what place is there in which I can rest? | 49“‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? |
| 50It was my hand that made all these things, wasn't it?'" | 50Did not my hand make all these things?’ |
| 51"You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. | 51“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. |
| 52Which of the prophets did your ancestors fail to persecute? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. | 52Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, |
| 53You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven't obeyed it!" | 53you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” |
| 54While they were listening to these things, they became more and more furious and began to grind their teeth at him. | 54Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. |
| 55But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. | 55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. |
| 56He said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" | 56And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” |
| 57But they shouted out loud, stopped listening, and together they all rushed at him, | 57But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. |
| 58ran him outside of the city, and began to stone him to death. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. | 58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. |
| 59As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" | 59And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” |
| 60Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, don't hold this sin against them!" After he had said this, he died. | 60And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. |
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