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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://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 Amplified Bible</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></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="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">AMP</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 width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="../menu.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table><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"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">Amplified Bible</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nas/esv/acts/7.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Verses"> Par ▾ </a></tr></table></div><p class="hdg">Stephen’s Defense</p><p><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Now the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[a]</a></span>high priest asked [Stephen], “Are these charges true?” <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>And he answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory [the Shekinah, the radiance of God] appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>and He said to him, ‘LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME TO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, <i>God</i> sent him to this country in which you now live. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>But He did not give him inheritable property, not even enough ground to take a step on, yet He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>And this is, in effect, what God spoke [to him]: That his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE ALIENS (strangers) IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED AND MISTREATED FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>‘AND I WILL JUDGE ANY NATION TO WHOM THEY WILL BE IN BONDAGE,’ said God, ‘AND AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME [in worship] IN THIS PLACE.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>And God gave Abraham a covenant [a formal agreement to be strictly observed] of [which] circumcision [was the sign]; and so [under these circumstances] Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac [became the father] of <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[b]</a></span>Jacob, and Jacob [became the father] of the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[c]</a></span>twelve patriarchs. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>“The [ten elder] patriarchs, <i>overwhelmed</i> with jealousy, sold [their younger brother] Joseph into [slavery in] Egypt; but God was with him, <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>and He rescued him from all his suffering, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made Joseph governor over Egypt and over his entire household. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>“Now a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great distress and our fathers could not find food [for their households and livestock]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers <i>there</i> the first time. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>And on the second <i>visit</i> Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and Joseph’s family <i>and</i> background were revealed to Pharaoh. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>Then Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five persons in all. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>And Jacob (Israel) went down into Egypt, and <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[d]</a></span>there he died, as did our fathers; <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>and [from Egypt] <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[e]</a></span>their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>“But as the time [for the fulfillment] of the promise which God had made to Abraham was approaching, the [Hebrew] people increased and multiplied in Egypt, <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>until [the time when] THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH [nor his history and the merit of his service to Egypt]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>He shrewdly exploited our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to expose their [male] babies so that they would die. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>It was at this [critical] time that Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and for three months he was nourished in his father’s house. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Then when he was set outside [to die], Pharaoh’s daughter rescued him <i>and</i> claimed him for herself, and cared for him as her own son. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>So Moses was educated in all the wisdom <i>and</i> culture of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>But when he reached the age of forty, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>And when he saw one [of them] being treated unfairly, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking <i>and</i> killing the Egyptian. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>He expected his countrymen to understand that God was granting them freedom through him [assuming that they would accept him], but they did not understand. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, ‘WHO APPOINTED YOU RULER AND JUDGE OVER US? <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>DO YOU INTEND TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY?’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>At this remark MOSES FLED AND BECAME AN EXILE IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, where he fathered two sons. <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>“After forty years had passed, AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[f]</a></span>Sinai, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came [to him, saying]: <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>‘I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND OF ISAAC AND OF JACOB.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>THEN THE LORD SAID TO HIM, ‘REMOVE THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND [worthy of reverence and respect]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>I HAVE MOST CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANING, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM. NOW COME, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT [as My messenger].’ <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>“This Moses whom they rejected, saying, ‘WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?’ is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the [protecting and helping] hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>This man led them out [of Egypt] after performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[g]</a></span>LIKE ME FROM YOUR COUNTRYMEN.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and <i>who was</i> with our fathers; and he received living oracles [divine words that still live] to be handed down to you. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>Our fathers were unwilling to be subject to him [and refused to listen to him]. They rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>THEY SAID TO AARON, ‘MAKE FOR US GODS WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>In those days they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced <i>and</i> celebrated over the works of their hands. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span>But God turned away [from them] and handed them over to serve the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[h]</a></span>host of heaven. As it is written <i>and</i> forever remains written in the book of the prophets, ‘IT WAS NOT [really] TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FOR FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL? <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-43.htm"><b>43</b></a></span>YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE (portable temple) OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP; AND I WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON [carrying you away into exile].’ <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-44.htm"><b>44</b></a></span>“Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God directed Moses to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-45.htm"><b>45</b></a></span>Our fathers also brought it in [with them into the land] with Joshua when they dispossessed the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[i]</a></span>nations whom God drove out before our fathers, [and so it remained here] until the time of David, <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-46.htm"><b>46</b></a></span>who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and asked that he might [be allowed to] find a dwelling place for the <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[j]</a></span>God of Jacob. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-47.htm"><b>47</b></a></span>But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-48.htm"><b>48</b></a></span>However, the Most High [the One infinitely exalted above humanity] does not dwell in <i>houses</i> made by human hands; as the prophet [Isaiah] says, <poetry><p class="indent1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-49.htm"><b>49</b></a></span>‘HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, <t><p class="indent1">AND THE EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL FOR MY FEET; <t><p class="indent1">WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?’ says the Lord, <t><p class="indent1">‘OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REST? <poetry><p class="indent1"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-50.htm"><b>50</b></a></span>‘WAS IT NOT MY HAND THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?’ <p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-51.htm"><b>51</b></a></span>“You stiff-necked <i>and</i> stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-52.htm"><b>52</b></a></span>Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-53.htm"><b>53</b></a></span>you who received the law as ordained <i>and</i> delivered to you by angels, and yet you did not obey it!” <p class="hdg">Stephen Put to Death</p><p class="paragraph"><span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-54.htm"><b>54</b></a></span>Now when <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[k]</a></span>they heard this [accusation and understood its implication], they were cut to the heart, and they <i>began</i> grinding their teeth [in rage] at him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-55.htm"><b>55</b></a></span>But he, being full of the Holy Spirit <i>and</i> led by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory [the great splendor and majesty] of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-56.htm"><b>56</b></a></span>and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[l]</a></span>the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-57.htm"><b>57</b></a></span>But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and together rushed at him [considering him guilty of blasphemy]. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-58.htm"><b>58</b></a></span>Then they drove him out of the city and <i>began</i> stoning him; and the witnesses placed their outer robes at the feet of a young man named <span class="fn"><a href="#fn">[m]</a></span>Saul. <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-59.htm"><b>59</b></a></span>They continued stoning Stephen as he called on <i>the Lord</i> and said, “Lord Jesus, receive <i>and</i> accept <i>and</i> welcome my spirit!” <span class="reftext"><a href="/acts/7-60.htm"><b>60</b></a></span>Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!” When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].<A name="fn"></a></p><br /><br /><span class="footnotesbot">[a]</span> <span class="fnverse">1</span> Probably Caiaphas. See 4:6.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[b]</span> <span class="fnverse">8</span> Jacob’s name was changed to Israel (Gen 32:28).<br><span class="footnotesbot">[c]</span> <span class="fnverse">8</span> Ancestral fathers of the twelve tribes: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[d]</span> <span class="fnverse">15</span> Jacob was buried in Abraham’s tomb at Machpelah in Canaan.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[e]</span> <span class="fnverse">16</span> Lit <i>they,</i> i.e. the bodies of Joseph and his brothers.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[f]</span> <span class="fnverse">30</span> Horeb is the range of mountains of which Sinai is a peak (Ex 3:1).<br><span class="footnotesbot">[g]</span> <span class="fnverse">37</span> Or <i>as He raised up me</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[h]</span> <span class="fnverse">42</span> A mythological group of gods represented by the heavenly bodies and constellations.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[i]</span> <span class="fnverse">45</span> Or <i>Gentiles</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[j]</span> <span class="fnverse">46</span> The earliest mss read <i>house</i> instead of “God”; the Septuagint reads <i>God</i>.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[k]</span> <span class="fnverse">54</span> This would include the members of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) and those witnessing the proceedings.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[l]</span> <span class="fnverse">56</span> The vision acknowledged Stephen’s right standing with God.<br><span class="footnotesbot">[m]</span> <span class="fnverse">58</span> At this time Saul (later known as the apostle Paul) was an active and devoted Pharisee.<br></div><br /><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015<br>by The Lockman Foundation<br>All rights reserved <a href="http://www.lockman.org">www.lockman.org</a><br><br><a href="/">Bible Hub</a><br>                                                                                                                                <span class="p"><br /><br /></span></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../acts/6.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Acts 6"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Acts 6" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../acts/8.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Acts 8"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Acts 8" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div align="center"><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchapnoad.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>