King James Version: Acts Chapter 7
1 Then said the high
priest, Are these things so?
2 And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of
glory appeared unto our father
Abraham, when he was in
Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in
Charran,
3 And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in
Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
6 And God spake on this
wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into
bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
7 And the nation to whom they shall be in
bondage will I
judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
8 And he gave him the
covenant of
circumcision: and so
Abraham begat
Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and
Isaac begat
Jacob; and
Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.
9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold
Joseph into
Egypt: but God was with him,
10 And delivered him out of all his
afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of
Pharaoh king of
Egypt; and he made him governor over
Egypt and all his house.
11 Now there came a
dearth over all the land of
Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when
Jacob heard that there was
corn in
Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
13 And at the second time
Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto
Pharaoh.
14 Then sent
Joseph, and called his father
Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
15 So
Jacob went down into
Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
16 And were carried over into
Sychem, and laid in the
sepulchre that
Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of
Emmor the father of
Sychem.
17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to
Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in
Egypt,
18 Till another
king arose, which knew not
Joseph.
19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.
20 In which time
Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:
21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
22 And
Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of
Israel.
24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a
judge over us?
28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?
29 Then fled
Moses at this saying, and was a
stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.
30 And 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.
31 When
Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the LORD came unto him,
32 Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of
Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of
Jacob. Then
Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
33 Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.
34 I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in
Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into
Egypt.
35 This
Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a
judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the
angel which appeared to him in the
bush.
36 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of
Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the
wilderness forty years.
37 This is that
Moses, which 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.
38 This is he, that was in the church in the
wilderness with the
angel which spake to him in the
mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into
Egypt,
40 Saying unto
Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this
Moses, which brought us out of the land of
Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.
41 And they made a
calf in those days, and offered
sacrifice unto the
idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
42 Then God turned, and gave them up to
worship the
host of
heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of
Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the
wilderness?
43 Yea, ye took up the
tabernacle of
Moloch, and the star of your god
Remphan, figures which ye made to
worship them: and I will carry you away beyond
Babylon.
44 Our fathers had the
tabernacle of
witness in the
wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto
Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.
45 Which also our fathers that came after brought in with
Jesus into the possession of the
Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of
David;
46 Who found favour before God, and desired to find a
tabernacle for the God of
Jacob.
47 But
Solomon built him an house.
48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the
prophet,
49 Heaven is my
throne, and earth is my
footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
50 Hath not my hand made all these things?
51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy
Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy
Ghost, looked up stedfastly into
heaven, and saw the
glory of God, and
Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was
Saul.
59 And they stoned
Stephen,
calling upon God, and saying, Lord
Jesus, receive my
spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this
sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Next: Acts Chapter 8
