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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Acts 7 CEV</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/acts/7.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/acts/7-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">CEV</a> > Acts 7</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../acts/6.htm" title="Acts 6">◄</a> Acts 7 <a href="../acts/8.htm" title="Acts 8">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Contemporary English Version</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s1">Stephen's Speech</h3><p class="par"><span class="v44_7_1"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.1" class="v44_7_1">1</span>The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v44_7_2"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.2" class="v44_7_2">2</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.2!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Stephen answered:</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_2">Friends, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he had moved to Haran. </span><span class="v44_7_3"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.3" class="v44_7_3">3</span>God told him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to a land that I will show you.” </span><span class="v44_7_4"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.4" class="v44_7_4">4</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.4!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_4">After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. </span><span class="v44_7_5"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.5" class="v44_7_5">5</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.5!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> God didn't give him any part of it, not even a square meter. But God did promise to give it to him and his family forever, even though Abraham didn't have any children. </span><span class="v44_7_6"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.6" class="v44_7_6">6</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.6!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> God said Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be mistreated 400 years. </span><span class="v44_7_7"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.7" class="v44_7_7">7</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.7!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_8"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.8" class="v44_7_8">8</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.8!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons. </span><span class="v44_7_9"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.9" class="v44_7_9">9</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.9!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> These men were our ancestors.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_9">Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with him </span><span class="v44_7_10"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.10" class="v44_7_10">10</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.10!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoh thought highly of him. The king even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_11"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.11" class="v44_7_11">11</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.11!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat. </span><span class="v44_7_12"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.12" class="v44_7_12">12</span>But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. </span><span class="v44_7_13"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.13" class="v44_7_13">13</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.13!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph's family.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_14"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.14" class="v44_7_14">14</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.14!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were 75 of them. </span><span class="v44_7_15"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.15" class="v44_7_15">15</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.15!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did. </span><span class="v44_7_16"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.16" class="v44_7_16">16</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.16!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_17"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.17" class="v44_7_17">17</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.17!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Finally, the time came for God to do what he had promised Abraham. By then the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. </span><span class="v44_7_18"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.18" class="v44_7_18">18</span>Another king was ruling Egypt, and he didn't know anything about Joseph. </span><span class="v44_7_19"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.19" class="v44_7_19">19</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.19!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them. He even made them leave their babies outside, so they would die.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_20"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.20" class="v44_7_20">20</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.20!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> During this time Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him in their home. </span><span class="v44_7_21"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.21" class="v44_7_21">21</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.21!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Then when they were forced to leave him outside, the king's daughter found him and raised him as her own son. </span><span class="v44_7_22"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.22" class="v44_7_22">22</span>Moses was given the best education in Egypt. He was a strong man and a powerful speaker.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_23"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.23" class="v44_7_23">23</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.23!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> When Moses was 40 years old, he wanted to help the Israelites because they were his own people. </span><span class="v44_7_24"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.24" class="v44_7_24">24</span>One day he saw an Egyptian mistreating one of them. So he rescued the man and killed the Egyptian. </span><span class="v44_7_25"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.25" class="v44_7_25">25</span>Moses thought the rest of his people would realize God was going to use him to set them free. But they didn't understand.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_26"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.26" class="v44_7_26">26</span>The next day Moses saw two of his own people fighting, and he tried to make them stop. He said, “Men, you are both Israelites. Why are you so cruel to each other?”</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_27"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.27" class="v44_7_27">27</span>But the man who had started the fight pushed Moses aside and asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? </span><span class="v44_7_28"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.28" class="v44_7_28">28</span>Are you going to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” </span><span class="v44_7_29"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.29" class="v44_7_29">29</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.29!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> When Moses heard this, he ran away to live in the country of Midian. His two sons were born there.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_30"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.30" class="v44_7_30">30</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.30!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. </span><span class="v44_7_31"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.31" class="v44_7_31">31</span>Moses was surprised by what he saw. He went closer to get a better look, and the Lord said, </span><span class="v44_7_32"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.32" class="v44_7_32">32</span>“I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses started shaking all over and didn't dare to look at the bush.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_33"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.33" class="v44_7_33">33</span>The Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, because the place where you are standing is holy. </span><span class="v44_7_34"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.34" class="v44_7_34">34</span>With my own eyes I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now I am sending you back to Egypt.”</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_35"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.35" class="v44_7_35">35</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.35!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> This was the same Moses that the people rejected by saying, “Who made you our leader and judge?” God's angel had spoken to Moses from the bush. And God had even sent the angel to help Moses rescue the people and be their leader.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_36"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.36" class="v44_7_36">36</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.36!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> In Egypt and at the Red Sea<a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.36!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> and in the desert, Moses rescued the people by working miracles and wonders for 40 years. </span><span class="v44_7_37"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.37" class="v44_7_37">37</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.37!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Moses is the one who told the people of Israel, “God will choose one of your people to be a prophet, just as he chose me.” </span><span class="v44_7_38"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.38" class="v44_7_38">38</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.38!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Moses brought our people together in the desert, and the angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. There he was given these life-giving words to pass on to us. </span><span class="v44_7_39"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.39" class="v44_7_39">39</span>But our ancestors refused to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_40"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.40" class="v44_7_40">40</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.40!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The people said to Aaron, “Make some gods to lead us! Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what's happened to him now.” </span><span class="v44_7_41"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.41" class="v44_7_41">41</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.41!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf. They offered sacrifices to the idol and were pleased with what they had done.</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_42"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.42" class="v44_7_42">42</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.42!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> God turned his back on his people and left them. Then they worshiped the stars in the sky, just as it says in the Book of the Prophets, “People of Israel, you didn't offer sacrifices and offerings to me during those 40 years in the desert. </span><span class="v44_7_43"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.43" class="v44_7_43">43</span>Instead, you carried the tent where the god Molech is worshiped, and you took along the star of your god Rephan. You made those idols and worshiped them. So now I will have you carried off beyond Babylonia.”</span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_44"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.44" class="v44_7_44">44</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.44!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> The tent where our ancestors worshiped God was with them in the desert. This was the same tent that God had commanded Moses to make. And it was made like the model that Moses had seen. </span><span class="v44_7_45"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.45" class="v44_7_45">45</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.45!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> Later it was given to our ancestors, and they took it with them when they went with Joshua. They carried the tent along as they took over the land from those people that God had chased out for them. Our ancestors used this tent until the time of King David. </span><span class="v44_7_46"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.46" class="v44_7_46">46</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.46!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> He pleased God and asked him if he could build a house of worship for the people<a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.46!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> of Israel. </span><span class="v44_7_47"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.47" class="v44_7_47">47</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.47!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> And it was finally King Solomon who built a house for God.<a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.47!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_48"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.48" class="v44_7_48">48</span>But the Most High God doesn't live in houses made by humans. It is just as the prophet said, when he spoke for the Lord,</span></p><p class="b"></p><p class="q1"><span class="v44_7_49"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.49" class="v44_7_49">49</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.49!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> “Heaven is my throne,</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v44_7_49">and the earth</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v44_7_49">is my footstool.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v44_7_49">What kind of house</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v44_7_49">will you build for me?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v44_7_49">In what place will I rest?</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v44_7_50"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.50" class="v44_7_50">50</span>I have made everything.”</span></p><p class="b"></p><p class="pi"><span class="v44_7_51"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.51" class="v44_7_51">51</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.51!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> You stubborn and hardheaded people! You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did. </span><span class="v44_7_52"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.52" class="v44_7_52">52</span>Is there one prophet that your ancestors didn't mistreat? They killed the prophets who told about the coming of the One Who Obeys God.<a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.52!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> And now you have turned against him and killed him. </span><span class="v44_7_53"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.53" class="v44_7_53">53</span>Angels gave you God's Law, but you still don't obey it.</span></p><h3 class="s1">Stephen Is Stoned to Death</h3><p class="par"><span class="v44_7_54"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.54" class="v44_7_54">54</span>When the council members heard Stephen's speech, they were angry and furious. </span><span class="v44_7_55"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.55" class="v44_7_55">55</span><a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.55!x.1" class="notelink x-link"><span></span></a> But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side.<a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.55!f.2" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span><span class="v44_7_56"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.56" class="v44_7_56">56</span>Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!”</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v44_7_57"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.57" class="v44_7_57">57</span>The council members shouted and covered their ears. At once they all attacked Stephen </span><span class="v44_7_58"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.58" class="v44_7_58">58</span>and dragged him out of the city. Then they started throwing stones at him. The men who had brought charges against him put their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.<a href="#fn" id="link_Acts.7.58!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="par"><span class="v44_7_59"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.59" class="v44_7_59">59</span>As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” </span><span class="v44_7_60"><span class="reftext" id="Acts.7.60" class="v44_7_60">60</span>He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don't blame them for what they have done.” Then he died.</span></p></div> </div> <a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">7.36 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Red Sea: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">This name comes from the Bible of the early Christians, a translation made into Greek about 200 <char style="sc">b.c.</char> It refers to the body of water that the Israelites crossed and was one of the marshes or fresh water lakes near the eastern part of the Nile Delta, where they lived and where the towns of Exodus 13.17—14.9 were located.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">7.46 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">people: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Some manuscripts have “God.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">7.47 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">God: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Or “the people.”</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">7.52 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">One Who Obeys God: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">That is, Jesus.</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">7.55 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">standing at his right side: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">The “right side” is the place of honor and power. “Standing” may mean that Jesus is welcoming Stephen (see verse 59).</char></note><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">7.58 </char><char style="fq" closed="false">Saul: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Better known as Paul, who became a famous follower of Jesus.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 2006 American Bible Society. 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