KJV

Acts 7

Compare: BSB WEB KJV ASV

¹¶ Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

²And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

³And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

⁴Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

⁵And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not [so much as] to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when [as yet] he had no child.

⁶And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat [them] evil four hundred years.

⁷And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

⁸And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so [Abraham] begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac [begat] Jacob; and Jacob [begat] the twelve patriarchs.

⁹And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,

¹⁰And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

¹³And at the second [time] Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to [him], and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

¹⁵So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,

¹⁶And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor [the father] of Sychem.

¹⁷¶ But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

¹⁹The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

²⁰In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:

²¹And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

²²And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

²³And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

²⁴And seeing one [of them] suffer wrong, he defended [him], and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

²⁵For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

²⁶And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

²⁷But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

³⁰¶ And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹When Moses saw [it], he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold [it], the voice of the Lord came unto him,

³²[Saying], I [am] the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

³³Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

³⁴I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

³⁵This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send [to be] a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

³⁷This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

³⁸This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and [with] our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

³⁹To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust [him] from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

⁴⁰Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for [as for] this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

⁴¹And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

⁴²¶ Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices [by the space of] forty years in the wilderness?

⁴³Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

⁴⁵Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

⁴⁶Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But Solomon built him an house.

⁴⁸Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

⁴⁹Heaven [is] my throne, and earth [is] my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what [is] the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Hath not my hand made all these things?

⁵¹¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers [did], so [do] ye.

⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

⁵³Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept [it].

⁵⁴¶ When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth.

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

⁵⁶And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

⁵⁷Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

⁵⁸And cast [him] out of the city, and stoned [him]: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen, calling upon [God], and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Commentary Insights

Study and Reflection

Explore devotional and study commentary connected to this passage.

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Pastoral and devotional reflections focused on spiritual formation and application.

Acts 7:1-16 Verses 1-16

Stephen was charged as a blasphemer of God, and an apostate from the church; therefore he shows that he is a son of Abraham, and values himself on it. The slow steps by which the promise made to Abraham advanced toward performance, plainly show that it had a spiritual meaning, and that the land intended was the heavenly. God owned Joseph in his troubles, and was with him by the power of his Spirit, both on his own mind by giving him comfort, and on those he was concerned with, by giving him favour in their eyes. Stephen reminds the Jews of their mean beginning as a check to priding themselves in the glories of that nation. Likewise of the wickedness of the patriarchs of their tribes, in envying their brother Joseph; and the same spirit was still working in them toward Christ and his ministers. The faith of the patriarchs, in desiring to be buried in the land of Canaan, plainly showed they had regard to the heavenly country. It is well to recur to the first rise of usages, or sentiments, which have been perverted. Would we know the nature and effects of justifying faith, we should study the character of the father of the faithful. His calling shows the power and freeness of Divine grace, and the nature of conversion. Here also we see that outward forms and distinctions are as nothing, compared with separation from the world, and devotedness to God.

Acts 7:17-29 Verses 17-29

Let us not be discouraged at the slowness of the fulfilling of God's promises. Suffering times often are growing times with the church. God is preparing for his people's deliverance, when their day is darkest, and their distress deepest. Moses was exceeding fair, "fair toward God;" it is the beauty of holiness which is in God's sight of great price. He was wonderfully preserved in his infancy; for God will take special care of those of whom he designs to make special use. And did he thus protect the child Moses? Much more will he secure the interests of his holy child Jesus, from the enemies who are gathered together against him. They persecuted Stephen for disputing in defence of Christ and his gospel: in opposition to these they set up Moses and his law. They may understand, if they do not wilfully shut their eyes against the light, that God will, by this Jesus, deliver them out of a worse slavery than that of Egypt. Although men prolong their own miseries, yet the Lord will take care of his servants, and effect his own designs of mercy.

Acts 7:30-41 Verses 30-41

Men deceive themselves, if they think God cannot do what he sees to be good any where; he can bring his people into a wilderness, and there speak comfortably to them. He appeared to Moses in a flame of fire, yet the bush was not consumed; which represented the state of Israel in Egypt, where, though they were in the fire of affliction, yet they were not consumed. It may also be looked upon as a type of Christ's taking upon him the nature of man, and the union between the Divine and human nature. The death of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, cannot break the covenant relation between God and them. Our Saviour by this proves the future state, Mt 22:31. Abraham is dead, yet God is still his God, therefore Abraham is still alive. Now, this is that life and immortality which are brought to light by the gospel. Stephen here shows that Moses was an eminent type of Christ, as he was Israel's deliverer. God has compassion for the troubles of his church, and the groans of his persecuted people; and their deliverance takes rise from his pity. And that deliverance was typical of what Christ did, when, for us men, and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. This Jesus, whom they now refused, as their fathers did Moses, even this same has God advanced to be a Prince and Saviour. It does not at all take from the just honour of Moses to say, that he was but an instrument, and that he is infinitely outshone by Jesus. In asserting that Jesus should change the customs of the ceremonial law. Stephen was so far from blaspheming Moses, that really he honoured him, by showing how the prophecy of Moses was come to pass, which was so clear. God who gave them those customs by his servant Moses, might, no doubt, change the custom by his Son Jesus. But Israel thrust Moses from them, and would have returned to their bondage; so men in general will not obey Jesus, because they love this present evil world, and rejoice in their own works and devices.

Acts 7:42-50 Verses 42-50

Stephen upbraids the Jews with the idolatry of their fathers, to which God gave them up as a punishment for their early forsaking him. It was no dishonour, but an honour to God, that the tabernacle gave way to the temple; so it is now, that the earthly temple gives way to the spiritual one; and so it will be when, at last, the spiritual shall give way to the eternal one. The whole world is God's temple, in which he is every where present, and fills it with his glory; what occasion has he then for a temple to manifest himself in? And these things show his eternal power and Godhead. But as heaven is his throne, and the earth his footstool, so none of our services can profit Him who made all things. Next to the human nature of Christ, the broken and spiritual heart is his most valued temple.

Acts 7:51-53 Verses 51-53

Stephen was going on, it seems, to show that the temple and the temple service must come to an end, and it would be the glory of both to give way to the worship of the Father in spirit and in truth; but he perceived they would not bear it. Therefore he broke off, and by the Spirit of wisdom, courage, and power, sharply rebuked his persecutors. When plain arguments and truths provoke the opposers of the gospel, they should be shown their guilt and danger. They, like their fathers, were stubborn and wilful. There is that in our sinful hearts, which always resists the Holy Ghost, a flesh that lusts against the Spirit, and wars against his motions; but in the hearts of God's elect, when the fulness of time comes, this resistance is overcome. The gospel was offered now, not by angels, but from the Holy Ghost; yet they did not embrace it, for they were resolved not to comply with God, either in his law or in his gospel. Their guilt stung them to the heart, and they sought relief in murdering their reprover, instead of sorrow and supplication for mercy.

Acts 7:54-60 Verses 54-60

Nothing is so comfortable to dying saints, or so encouraging to suffering saints, as to see Jesus at the right hand of God: blessed be God, by faith we may see him there. Stephen offered up two short prayers in his dying moments. Our Lord Jesus is God, to whom we are to seek, and in whom we are to trust and comfort ourselves, living and dying. And if this has been our care while we live, it will be our comfort when we die. Here is a prayer for his persecutors. Though the sin was very great, yet if they would lay it to their hearts, God would not lay it to their charge. Stephen died as much in a hurry as ever any man did, yet, when he died, the words used are, he fell asleep; he applied himself to his dying work with as much composure as if he had been going to sleep. He shall awake again in the morning of the resurrection, to be received into the presence of the Lord, where is fulness of joy, and to share the pleasures that are at his right hand, for evermore.

Study This Passage

Key Words and Topics

These study connections are drawn from the internal BSB concordance and topical index imported into Daily Bread Intake.

Key Words in This Passage

Select a word to open the full concordance search.

Related Dictionary Terms

Explore people, places, themes, and biblical terms connected to this passage.

Host of heaven The sun, moon, and stars are so designated (Gen. 2:1).… Circumcision Cutting around. This rite, practised before, as some think, by… Mesopotamia The country between the two rivers (Heb. Aram-naharaim; i.e., "Syria… High priest Aaron was the first who was solemnly set apart to… Son of man (1.) Denotes mankind generally, with special reference to their weakness… Wilderness (1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a… Tabernacle (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.)… Testimony (1.) Witness or evidence (2 Thess. 1:10). (2.) The Scriptures,… Footstool Connected with a throne (2 Chr. 9:18). Jehovah symbolically dwelt… Foreigner A Gentile. Such as resided among the Hebrews were required… Sacrifice The offering up of sacrifices is to be regarded as… Redeemer Heb. goel; i.e., one charged with the duty of restoring… Covenant A contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old… Daughter This word, besides its natural and proper sense, is used… Red Sea The sea so called extends along the west coast of… Abraham Father of a multitude, son of Terah, named (Gen. 11:27)… Pharaoh The official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to… Sandals Mentioned only in Mark 6:9 and Acts 12:8. The sandal…

Acts 7

Study and Reflection

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary

Key Words and Topics

Key Words in This Passage

Related Topics

Aaron: Makes the Golden Calf Acts 7:40

Abraham: And Canaan Acts 7:4

Abraham: Divine Call of Acts 7:2, 3

Abraham: Lives in Ur, but Removes to Haran Acts 7:4

Adoption of Moses Acts 7:21

Angel (A Spirit): A Celestial Spirit: Called Angel of the Lord Acts 7:30, 35

Angel (A Spirit): Functions of Law Given By Acts 7:53

Angel (A Spirit): Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Acts 7:53

Angels: The Law Given by the Ministration of Acts 7:53

Anger: Jews, Against Stephen Acts 7:54–58

Anger: Sinful: High Priest Acts 7:54

Apostasy: Unclassified Scriptures Relating To Acts 7:39–43

Babylon: Empire of Divisions of Acts 7:4

Babylon: Formerly a Part of Mesopotamia Acts 7:2

Blasphemers Acts 7:51

Blaspheming the Holy Spirit Acts 7:51

Burial: Burying Places: Family Acts 7:16

Burning Bush: General Scriptures Concerning Acts 7:30

Calf of Gold was Made: After an Egyptian Model Acts 7:39, 41

Calf of Gold: Sacrifices offered To Acts 7:41

Calf: Golden, Made by Aaron Acts 7:41

Call: To Special Religious Duty: Moses Acts 7:34, 35

Calvinism Acts 7:51

Character of the Unrenewed Heart: Uncircumcised Acts 7:51

Related Dictionary Terms