Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

1Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

2And he said, "Brethren and fathers, hearken,---The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3and said to him, Depart from thy native country and from thy kindred, and come into the country which I shall shew thee. 4Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, after his father died, He removed him into this land in which ye now dwell: 5though He gave him no inheritance in it, no not the breadth of a foot; but He promised to give it to him for a possession, even to his seed after him; though he had then no child." 6And God spake thus unto him, "that his seed should sojourn in a strange country, and they shall in slave and abuse them four hundred years:" 7and God said, "I will judge the nation, to which they shall be in slavery; and afterwards they shall come out, and shall worship me in this place." 8And He gave him the covenant of circumcision: and he begat Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

9And the patriarchs, envying him, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he appointed him governor over Egypt, and over all his houshold.

11And there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction; and our fathers could not find sustenance. 12But Jacob hearing that there was corn in Egypt, sent out our fathers first: 13and at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known to Pharaoh. 14Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob, and all his kindred, even seventy-five souls.

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

15So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died there, he and our fathers: 16and were carried to Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre which he had bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

17But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt. 18Till another king arose, who knew not Joseph. This king formed crafty schemes against our nation, 19and oppressed our fathers, causing their children to be exposed, that their race might be extinguished.

The Birth and Adoption of Moses
(Hebrews 11:23–29)

20In which time Moses was born, who was exceeding beautiful, and he was nourished up in his father's house three months: and when he was exposed, 21Pharaoh's daughter took him up and nourished him for her own son. 22And Moses was trained up in all the wisdom of the Egyptians: and he was mighty in words, and in deeds.

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

23And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. 24And seeing one of them injured he defended him, and smiting the Egyptian he avenged him that was wronged. 25Now he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would give them deliverance by his hand: but they understood not. 26And the next day he came to them, as they were two of them fighting, and would have persuaded them to agree, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren, why do ye injure one another? 27But he, that injured his neighbor, thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? 28Wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday? 29Upon this Moses fled, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

The Call of Moses

30And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina, an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. 31Now Moses, when he saw it, was amazed at the sight; and as he came near to observe it, there was a voice of the Lord to him, 32saying, "I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;" but Moses trembling durst not look on. 33And the Lord said to him, "Take off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place on which thou standest is holy ground. 34I have seen the oppression of my people that are in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. Therefore come now, and I will send thee into Egypt."

35This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? did God send, by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush, to be their ruler and deliverer. 36And he brought them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the red sea, and in the wilderness, forty years. 37---This is that Moses who said unto the children of Israel, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear." 38This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel that spake to him on mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and who received the oracles of life to give unto us.

The Rebellion of Israel

39To whom our fathers would not be subject, but renounced him, and in their hearts turned back into Egypt, 40saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us; for as to this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And they made a calf in those days, 41and offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 42Then God turned away, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets, "O house of Israel, did ye offer to me your victims and sacrifices, for the space of forty years in the wilderness? 43yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them by: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

The Tabernacle of the Testimony
(Hebrews 9:1–10)

44The tabernacle of witness was among our fathers in the wilderness, as He, that spake unto Moses, ordered him to make it according to the model which he had seen in the mount: 45and which our fathers receiving, they with Joshua, brought into the territory of the nations, whom God drove out from before the face of our fathers, till the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God, 46and was desirous to provide an habitation for the God of Jacob. 47But Solomon built Him an house. 48Though the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as the prophet saith,

49"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what house will ye build for me, saith the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?

50hath not my hand made all these things?" ---

51Ye stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and slew those who prophesied concerning the coming of that righteous One, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers; 53who received the law by the ministration of angels, and yet have not kept it.

The Stoning of Stephen

54And when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But he being full of the holy Spirit looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus 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. 57Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58and cast him out of the city and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60And bending his knees, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this he fell asleep.