Context
1The high priest said, “Are these things so?”
2And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,3and said to him, ‘L, I .’4“Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. From there, after his father died,God had him move to this country in which you are now living.5“But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, andyet, even when he had no child, He promised that H , .6“But God spoke to this effect, that his , .7“ ‘A I M,’ said God, ‘ M .’8“And He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and soAbraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaacbecame the father of Jacob, and Jacobof the twelve patriarchs.
9“The patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt.Yet God was with him,10and rescued him from all his afflictions, and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household.
11“Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great afflictionwith it, and our fathers could find no food.12“But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathersthere the first time.13“On the secondvisit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh.14“Then Joseph sentword and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five personsin all.15“And Jacob went down to Egypt andthere he and our fathers died.16“From there they were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17“But as the time of the promise was approaching which God had assured to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,18until E J.19“It was he who took shrewd advantage of our race and mistreated our fathers so that they would expose their infants and they would not survive.20“It was at this time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and he was nurtured three months in his father’s home.21“And after he had been set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son.22“Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.23“But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel.24“And when he saw oneof them being treated unjustly, he defended him and took vengeance for the oppressed by striking down the Egyptian.25“And he supposed that his brethren understood that God was granting them deliverance through him, but they did not understand.26“On the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting together, and he tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren, why do you injure one another?’27“But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘W ?28‘Y E, ?’29“At this remark, M M, where he became the father of two sons.
30“After forty years had passed, M Sinai, .31“When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to lookmore closely, there came the voice of the Lord:32‘I G, G A I J.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look.33“B L ‘T , .34‘I M E, I ; , I E.’
35“This Moses whom they disowned, saying, ‘W?’ is the one whom God sentto be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush.36“This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.37“This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘G .’38“This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, andwho was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you.39“Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,40 A, ‘M; M E—.’41“At that time they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.42“But God turned away and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘I M , , O I?43‘Y M R, . I B.’
44“Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directedhim to make it according to the pattern which he had seen.45“And having received it in their turn, our fathers brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations whom God drove out before our fathers, until the time of David.46“David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.47“But it was Solomon who built a house for Him.48“However, the Most High does not dwell inhouses made byhuman hands; as the prophet says:
49‘H M,
A M;
W M?’ says the Lord,
‘O M?
50‘W M?’
51“You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did.52“Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become;53you who received the law as ordained by angels, andyet did not keep it.”
54Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and theybegan gnashing their teeth at him.55But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently 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 up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”57But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.58When they had driven him out of the city, theybegan stoninghim; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.59They went on stoning Stephen as he called onthe Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”60Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.
NASB ©1995
Parallel Verses
American Standard VersionAnd the high priest said, Are these things so?
Douay-Rheims BibleTHEN the high priest said: Are these things so?
Darby Bible TranslationAnd the high priest said, Are these things then so?
English Revised VersionAnd the high priest said, Are these things so?
Webster's Bible TranslationThen said the high priest, Are these things so?
Weymouth New TestamentThen the High Priest asked him, "Are these statements true?"
World English BibleThe high priest said, "Are these things so?"
Young's Literal Translation And the chief priest said, 'Are then these things so?'
Library
Stephen's vision
'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God'--ACTS vii. 56. I. The vision of the Son of Man, or the abiding manhood of Jesus. Stephen's Greek name, and his belonging to the Hellenistic part of the Church, make it probable that he had never seen Jesus during His earthly life. If so, how beautiful that he should thus see and recognise Him! How significant, in any case, is it he should instinctively have taken on his lips that name, 'the Son of Man,' to designate…
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The ActsThe Young Saul and the Aged Paul [Footnote: to the Young. ]
'...the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.'--ACTS vii. 58. '...Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.' --PHILEMON 9. A far greater difference than that which was measured by years separated the young Saul from the aged Paul. By years, indeed, the difference was, perhaps, not so great as the words might suggest, for Jewish usage extended the term of youth farther than we do, and began age sooner. No doubt, too, Paul's life had aged him fast,…
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts
The Death of the Master and the Death of the Servant
'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.'--ACTS vii. 59, 60. This is the only narrative in the New Testament of a Christian martyrdom or death. As a rule, Scripture is supremely indifferent to what becomes of the people with whom it is for a time concerned. As long as the man is the organ of the divine Spirit he is…
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts
The Prayer of Stephen.
(Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 1832.) TEXT: ACTS vii. 60. "And Stephen 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." FREE and unrestricted as we are in our church as to our choice of subjects for meditation from the treasuries of the divine Word, many of you may still perhaps wonder why I have selected this passage. For you are aware that I have often lately taken occasion to express the opinion that the state of things…
Friedrich Schleiermacher—Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher
Our Lord Appears after his Ascension.
^F I. Cor. XV. 8. ^f 8 and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also. [Since Paul reckons this among the bodily appearances of our Lord, we have included it in our work; but it borders upon those spiritual appearances which belong rather to apostolic history and may be classed with the vision of Stephen (Acts vii. 55) and John (Rev. i. 9-17), to which it was near kin. Accounts of the appearance will be found in the ninth, twenty-second and twenty-sixth chapters of Acts. For…
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Letter iv. You Reply to the Conclusion of My Letter: "What have we to do with Routiniers?...
My dear friend, You reply to the conclusion of my Letter: "What have we to do with routiniers? Quid mihi cum homunculis putata putide reputantibus? Let nothings count for nothing, and the dead bury the dead! Who but such ever understood the tenet in this sense?" In what sense then, I rejoin, do others understand it? If, with exception of the passages already excepted, namely, the recorded words of God--concerning which no Christian can have doubt or scruple,--the tenet in this sense be inapplicable…
Samuel Taylor Coleridge—Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit etc
St. Stephen's Day and Stephen, Full of Faith and Power, did Great Wonders and Miracles among the People. . . . Then they Stirred up the People. . . . And Caught Him, and Set up False Witnesses against Him.
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. . . . Then they stirred up the people. . . . and caught him, and set up false witnesses against him. Verzage nicht du Haüflein klein [52]Altenburg Gustavus Adolphus' Battle-song. 1631. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1855 Fear not, O little flock, the foe Who madly seeks your overthrow, Dread not his rage and power: What though your courage sometimes faints, His seeming triumph o'er God's saints Lasts but…
Catherine Winkworth—Lyra Germanica: The Christian Year
The Death of Stephen. Acts 7:54-60
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John Newton—Olney Hymns
Whether in Christ There was the Gift of Prophecy?
Objection 1: It would seem that in Christ there was not the gift of prophecy. For prophecy implies a certain obscure and imperfect knowledge, according to Num. 12:6: "If there be among you a prophet of the Lord, I will appear to him in a vision, or I will speak to him in a dream." But Christ had full and unveiled knowledge, much more than Moses, of whom it is subjoined that "plainly and not by riddles and figures doth he see God" (Num. 6:8). Therefore we ought not to admit prophecy in Christ. Objection…
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether those who are not Practiced in Keeping the Commandments Should Enter Religion?
Objection 1: It would seem that none should enter religion but those who are practiced in the observance of the commandments. For our Lord gave the counsel of perfection to the young man who said that he had kept the commandments "from his youth." Now all religious orders originate from Christ. Therefore it would seem that none should be allowed to enter religion but those who are practiced in the observance of the commandments. Objection 2: Further, Gregory says (Hom. xv in Ezech., and Moral. xxii):…
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
Whether the Old Law was Given through the Angels?
Objection 1: It seems that the Old Law was not given through the angels, but immediately by God. For an angel means a "messenger"; so that the word "angel" denotes ministry, not lordship, according to Ps. 102:20,21: "Bless the Lord, all ye His Angels . . . you ministers of His." But the Old Law is related to have been given by the Lord: for it is written (Ex. 20:1): "And the Lord spoke . . . these words," and further on: "I am the Lord Thy God." Moreover the same expression is often repeated in Exodus,…
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica
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