Stephen's Address to the Sanhedrin

1And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”

2And he began to speak: “Men, brothers, and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia, before his dwelling in Haran, 3and said to him, ‘Go out from your country and from your kindred, and come into the land that I will show you.’a 4Then having gone out from the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran. And from there, after his father died, He removed him into this land in which you now dwell.

5And He did not give to him an inheritance in it, not even the length of a foot; but He promised to give it to him for a possession, and his to descendants after him, there being to him no child. 6But God spoke thus, that his seed will be a sojourner in a strange land, and they will enslave it, and will mistreat it four hundred years. 7‘And the nation to which they will be in bondage, I will judge,’ God said, ‘and after these things they will come forth and will serve Me in this place.’b

8And He gave to him the covenant of circumcision; and thus he begat Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

9And the patriarchs, having envied Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him 10and rescued him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his house.

11And there came a famine upon all of Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers were not finding sustenance. 12Now Jacob, having heard there is grain in Egypt, sent forth our fathers first. 13And on the second time, Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. 14And Joseph, having sent, called for his father Jacob and all the kindred, seventy-five souls in all.

15And Jacob went down into Egypt and died, he and our fathers, 16and they were carried over into Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17Now as the time of the promise that God had sworn to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18until there arose another king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 19Having dealt treacherously with our race, he mistreated our fathers, making them abandon their infants so that they would not live.

20In that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God,c who was brought up three months in his father’s house. 21And he having been set outside, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up, and she brought him up as her own son. 22And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

23Now when his period of forty years was fulfilled, it came into his mind to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. 24And having seen a certain one being wronged, he defended him and did vengeance for the one being oppressed, having struck down the Egyptian. 25And he was supposing his brothers to understand that God is giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

26And on the following day, he appeared to those who were quarreling and urged them to peace, having said, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong one another?’

27But the one mistreating the neighbor pushed him away, having said, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge over us? 28Do you desire to kill me, the same way you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’d 29Now at this remark, Moses fled, and became exiled in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.

30And forty years having been passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire of a bush. 31And Moses having seen it, marveled at the vision. And of him coming near to behold it, there was the voice of the Lord: 32‘I am the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.’e And Moses, having become terrified, did not dare to look.

33And the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandal of your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. 34Having seen, I saw the oppression of My people in Egypt, and I have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’f

35This Moses whom they rejected, having said, ‘Who appointed you ruler and judge?’—him whom God sent and as ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel having appeared to him in the bush— 36this one led them out, having done wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

37This is the Moses having said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me out from your brothers.’g 38This is the one having been in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel speaking to him in Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us, 39to whom our fathers were not willing to be obedient, but thrust away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, 40having said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’h

41And in those days they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42But God turned away and delivered them to worship the host of heaven, as it has been written in the book of the prophets:

‘Did you offer slain beasts and sacrifices to Me

forty years in the wilderness,

O house of Israel?

43And you took up the tabernacle of Moloch

and the star of your god Rephan,

the images that you made to worship them;

and I will remove you

beyond Babylon.’i

44The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness, just as the One speaking to Moses had commanded to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, 45also which, having received by succession, our fathers brought in with Joshua in taking possession of the nations whom God drove out from the face of our fathers, until the days of David, 46who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.j 47But Solomon built Him the house.

48Yet the Most High does not dwell in hand-made houses. As the prophet says:

49‘Heaven is My throne,

and the earth a footstool of My feet.

What kind of house will you build Me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of My rest?

50Has not My hand made all these things?’k

51You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, also do you. 52Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those having foretold about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers, 53you who received the Law by the ordination of angels, and have not kept it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54Now hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts and began gnashing the teeth at him. 55But he being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked intently into heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

57And having cried out with a loud voice, they held their ears and rushed upon him with one accord, 58and having cast him out of the city, began to stone him. And the witnesses laid aside their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59And as they were stoning Stephen, he was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60And having fallen on his knees, he cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not place this sin to them.” And having said this, he fell asleep.