Acts 7:60 - Prayer Tents

Stephen’s Speech to the Council

7Then the high priest asked him, "Are these things so?"G1161G2036G749G1487G686G2192G5023G3779

2And Stephen replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,G1161G5346G435G80G2532G3962G191G2316G1391G3700G2257G3962G11G5607G1722G3318G4250G2228G846G2730G1722G5488

3and said to him, 'Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.'G2532G2036G4314G846G1831G1537G4675G1093G2532G1537G4675G4772G2532G1204G1519G1093G3739G302G1166G4671

4Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.G5119G1831G1537G1093G5466G2730G1722G5488G2547G3326G846G3962G599G3351G846G1519G5026G1093G1519G3739G5210G3568G2730

5He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.G2532G1325G846G3756G2817G1722G846G3761G968G4228G968G2532G1861G1325G846G846G1519G2697G2532G846G4690G3326G846G846G5607G3756G5043

6And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years.G1161G2316G2980G3779G3754G846G4690G2071G3941G1722G245G1093G2532G1402G846G1402G2532G2559G5071G2094

7'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.'G2532G1484G3739G1437G1398G2919G1473G2919G2036G2316G2532G3326G5023G1831G2532G3000G3427G1722G5129G5117

8Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.G2532G1325G846G1242G4061G2532G3779G1080G2464G2532G4059G846G3590G2250G2532G2464G2384G2532G2384G1427G3966

9"The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him,G2532G3966G2206G591G2501G1519G125G2532G2316G2258G3326G846

10and rescued him from all his afflictions, and enabled him to win favor and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.G2532G1807G846G1537G3956G846G2347G2532G1325G846G5485G2532G4678G1726G5328G935G125G2532G2525G846G2233G1909G125G2532G3650G846G3624

11Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food.G1161G2064G3042G1909G3650G1093G125G2532G5477G2532G3173G2347G2532G2257G3962G2147G3756G5527

12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit.G1161G2384G191G5607G4621G1722G125G1821G2257G3962G4412

13On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.G2532G1722G1208G2501G319G846G80G2532G2501G1085G1096G5318G5328

14Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all;G1161G649G2501G3333G846G3962G2384G2532G3956G846G4772G1722G1440G4002G5590

15so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors,G1161G2384G2597G1519G125G2532G5053G846G2532G2257G3962

16and their bodies were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.G2532G3346G1519G4966G2532G5087G1722G3418G3739G11G5608G5092G694G3844G5207G1697G3588G4966

17"But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multipliedG1161G2531G5550G1860G1448G3739G2316G3660G11G2992G837G2532G4129G1722G125

18until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt.G891G3739G2087G935G450G3739G1492G3756G2501

19He dealt craftily with our race and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die.G3778G2686G2257G1085G2559G2257G3962G4160G1570G846G1025G1519G2225G3361G2225

20At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful before God. For three months he was brought up in his father's house;G1722G3739G2540G3475G1080G2532G2258G2316G791G3739G397G1722G846G3962G3624G5140G3376

21and when he was abandoned, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.G1161G846G1620G5328G2364G337G846G337G2532G397G846G1519G1438G5207

22So Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds.G2532G3475G3811G3956G4678G124G1161G2258G1415G1722G3056G2532G1722G2041

23"When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his relatives, the Israelites.G1161G5613G846G4137G5063G5550G305G1909G846G2588G1980G846G80G5207G2474

24When he saw one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.G2532G1492G5100G91G292G2532G1557G4160G2669G3960G124

25He supposed that his kinsfolk would understand that God through him was rescuing them, but they did not understand.G1161G3543G846G80G4920G3754G2316G1223G846G5495G1325G4991G846G1161G4920G3756

26The next day he came to some of them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong each other?'G5037G1966G2250G3700G846G3164G2532G4900G846G1519G1515G2036G435G5210G2075G80G2444G91G240

27But the man who was wronging his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?G1161G91G4139G91G683G846G683G2036G5101G2525G4571G758G2532G1348G1909G2248

28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'G3361G2309G4771G337G3165G3739G5158G337G124G5504

29When he heard this, Moses fled and became a resident alien in the land of Midian. There he became the father of two sons.G1161G5343G3475G1722G5129G3056G2532G1096G3941G1722G1093G3099G3757G1080G1417G5207

30"Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.G2532G5062G2094G4137G3700G846G1722G2048G3735G4614G32G2962G1722G5395G4442G942

31When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord:G1161G3475G1492G2296G3705G1161G846G4334G2657G5456G2962G1096G4314G846

32'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.G1473G2316G4675G3962G2316G11G2532G2316G2464G2532G2316G2384G1161G3475G1096G1790G5111G3756G2657

33Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.G1161G2036G2962G846G3089G5266G4675G4228G1063G5117G1722G3739G2476G2076G40G1093

34I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'G1492G1492G2561G3450G2992G3588G1722G125G2532G191G846G4726G2532G2597G1807G846G2532G3568G1204G649G4571G1519G125

35"It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.G5126G3475G3739G720G2036G5101G2525G4571G758G2532G1348G5126G2316G649G758G2532G3086G1722G5495G32G3588G3700G846G1722G942

36He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.G3778G1806G846G1806G4160G5059G2532G4592G1722G1093G125G2532G1722G2063G2281G2532G1722G2048G5062G2094

37This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.'G3778G2076G3475G3588G2036G5207G2474G4396G450G2962G5216G2316G450G5213G1537G5216G80G5613G1691G846G191

38He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us.G3778G2076G1096G1722G1577G1722G2048G3326G32G3588G2980G846G1722G3735G4614G2532G2257G3962G3739G1209G2198G3051G1325G2254

39Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,G3739G2257G3962G2309G3756G1096G5255G235G683G2532G846G2588G4762G1519G125

40saying to Aaron, 'Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'G2036G2G4160G2254G2316G3739G4313G2257G1063G3778G3475G3739G1806G2248G1537G1093G125G1492G3756G5101G1096G846

41At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.G2532G3447G1722G1565G2250G2532G321G2378G1497G2532G2165G1722G2041G846G5495

42But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?G1161G2316G4762G2532G3860G846G3860G3000G4756G3772G2531G1125G1722G976G4396G3624G2474G3361G4374G3427G4968G2532G2378G5062G2094G1722G2048

43No; you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.'G2532G353G4633G3434G2532G798G5216G2316G4481G5179G3739G4160G4352G846G2532G3351G5209G3351G1900G897

44"Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.G2257G3962G2258G4633G3142G1722G1722G2048G2531G1299G2980G3475G4160G846G2596G5179G3739G3708

45Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David,G3739G2532G2257G3962G1237G1521G3326G2424G1722G2697G1484G3739G2316G1856G575G4383G2257G3962G2193G2250G1138

46who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.G3739G2147G5485G1799G2316G2532G154G2147G4638G2316G2384

47But it was Solomon who built a house for him.G1161G4672G3618G846G3624

48Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet says,G235G5310G2730G3756G1722G3485G5499G2531G3004G4396

49'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?G3772G3427G2362G1161G1093G3450G4228G5286G4169G3624G3618G3427G3004G2962G2228G5101G5117G3450G2663

50Did not my hand make all these things?'G4160G3780G3450G5495G4160G3956G5023

51"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.G4644G2532G564G2588G2532G3775G5210G496G104G496G40G4151G5613G5216G3962G2532G5210

52Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.G5101G4396G1377G3756G5216G3962G1377G2532G615G3588G4293G4012G1660G1342G3739G5210G1096G3568G4273G2532G5406

53You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it."G3748G2983G3551G1519G1296G32G2532G5442G3756G5442

The Stoning of Stephen

54When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.G1161G191G5023G1282G2588G846G2532G1031G1909G846G3599

55But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.G1161G5225G4134G40G4151G816G1519G3772G1492G1391G2316G2532G2424G2476G1537G1188G2316

56"Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"G2532G2036G2400G2334G3772G455G2532G5207G444G2476G1537G1188G2316

57But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.G1161G2896G3173G5456G4912G846G3775G2532G3729G1909G846G3661

58Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.G2532G1544G1854G4172G3036G2532G3144G659G846G2440G3844G3494G4228G2564G4569

59While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."G2532G3036G4736G1941G2532G3004G2962G2424G1209G3450G4151

60Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.G1161G5087G1119G2896G3173G5456G2962G2476G3361G5026G266G846G2532G2036G5124G2837