| International Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Then the high priest asked, "Is this true?" | 1Then the high priest asked Stephen, "Are these charges true?" |
| 2Stephen replied: "Listen, brothers and fathers! "The glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. | 2To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. |
| 3God told him, 'Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land I'll show you.' | 3Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land 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. | 4"So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where 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. | 5He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham 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. | 6God spoke to him in this way: 'For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. |
| 7But I will punish the nation they serve,' said God, 'and afterwards they will leave and worship me in this place.' | 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country 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. | 8Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father 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"Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave 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 from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. |
| 11"But a famine spread throughout Egypt and Canaan, and with it great suffering, and our ancestors couldn't find any food. | 11"Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. |
| 12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors on their first trip. | 12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. |
| 13On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph introduced his family to Pharaoh. | 13On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. |
| 14Then Joseph invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him in Egypt —75 persons in all. | 14After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. |
| 15So Jacob went down to Egypt. Then he and our ancestors died. | 15Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. |
| 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. | 16Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. |
| 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"As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. |
| 18Eventually, a different king who had not known Joseph became ruler of Egypt. | 18Then 'a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.' |
| 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 treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die. |
| 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. | 20"At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for by his family. |
| 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. | 21When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took 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. | 22Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. |
| 23"When he was 40 years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the descendants of Israel. | 23"When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. |
| 24When he saw one of them being mistreated, he defended him and avenged the man who was being mistreated by killing the Egyptian. | 24He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. |
| 25He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was using him to rescue them, but they didn't understand. | 25Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. |
| 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?' | 26The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?' |
| 27"But the man who was harming his neighbor pushed Moses away and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? | 27"But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, 'Who made you ruler and judge over us? |
| 28You don't want to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?' | 28Are you thinking of killing 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. | 29When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had 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"After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. |
| 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 he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: |
| 32I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses became terrified and didn't dare to look. | 32I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses trembled with fear 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. | 33"Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off your sandals, 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 indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back 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 is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, 'Who made you ruler and judge?' He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through 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. | 36He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. |
| 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.' | 37"This is the Moses who told the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.' |
| 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, | 38He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. |
| 39but our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and wished to return to Egypt. | 39"But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back 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!' | 40They told Aaron, 'Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt--we don't know what has happened to 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. | 41That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. |
| 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 from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: "'Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, people 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 have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore 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 ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern 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. | 45After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, |
| 46He found favor with God and asked to design a dwelling for the house of Jacob, | 46who enjoyed God's favor and asked that he might provide 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, | 48"However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human 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 where will my resting place be? |
| 50It was my hand that made all these things, wasn't it?'" | 50Has not my hand made 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! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! |
| 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. | 52Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- |
| 53You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven't obeyed it!" | 53you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it." |
| 54While they were listening to these things, they became more and more furious and began to grind their teeth at him. | 54When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed 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 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to 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!" | 56"Look," he said, "I see heaven open 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, | 57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed 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. | 58dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. |
| 59As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" | 59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "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. | 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." 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. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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