Acts

Stephen’s Address: The Call of Abraham

1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”

2And Stephen declared: “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 Haran,

3and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’

4So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.

5He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.

6God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

7‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’

8Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and 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.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

9Because 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 Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.

12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit.

13On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity tohis brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh.

14Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.

Israel Oppressed in Egypt

15So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.

16Their bones were carried backto Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

17As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.

18Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt.

19He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.

The Birth and Adoption of Moses

20At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God.For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.

21When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.

22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.

The Rejection and Flight of Moses

23When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

24And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.

25He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.

26The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’

27But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?

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

29At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.

The Call of Moses

30After 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 marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:

32‘I 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 said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

34I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

35This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angelwho appeared to him in the bush.

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

37This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’

38He was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.

The Rebellion of Israel

39But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

40They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

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

42But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offeringsforty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

43You have taken along the tabernacle of Molechand the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship.Therefore I will send you into exilebeyond Babylon.’

The Tabernacle of the Testimony

44Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.

45And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,

46who found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

47But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.

48However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:

49‘Heaven is My throneand the earth is My footstool.What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord,or where will My place of repose be?

50Has not My hand made all these things?’

51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

52Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—

53you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

54On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged,and they gnashed their teeth at him.

55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus 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.”

57At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

58They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

60Falling on his knees, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

司提反當眾申訴

1大祭司就說：「這些事果然有嗎？」

2司提反說：「諸位父兄請聽！當日我們的祖宗亞伯拉罕在美索不達米亞還未住哈蘭的時候，榮耀的上帝向他顯現，

3對他說：『你要離開本地和親族，往我所要指示你的地方去。』

4他就離開迦勒底人之地，住在哈蘭。他父親死了以後，上帝使他從那裏搬到你們現在所住之地。

5在這地方，上帝並沒有給他產業，連立足之地也沒有給他；但應許要將這地賜給他和他的後裔為業；那時他還沒有兒子。

6上帝說：『他的後裔必寄居外邦，那裏的人要叫他們作奴僕，苦待他們四百年。』

7上帝又說：『使他們作奴僕的那國，我要懲罰。以後他們要出來，在這地方事奉我。』

8上帝又賜他割禮的約。於是亞伯拉罕生了以撒，第八日給他行了割禮。以撒生雅各；雅各生十二位先祖。

9「先祖嫉妒約瑟，把他賣到埃及去；上帝卻與他同在，

10救他脫離一切苦難，又使他在埃及王法老面前得恩典，有智慧。法老就派他作埃及國的宰相兼管全家。

11後來埃及和迦南全地遭遇饑荒，大受艱難，我們的祖宗就絕了糧。

12雅各聽見在埃及有糧，就打發我們的祖宗初次往那裏去。

13第二次約瑟與弟兄們相認，他的親族也被法老知道了。

14約瑟就打發弟兄請父親雅各和全家七十五個人都來。

15於是雅各下了埃及，後來他和我們的祖宗都死在那裏；

16又被帶到示劍，葬於亞伯拉罕在示劍用銀子從哈抹子孫買來的墳墓裏。

17「及至上帝應許亞伯拉罕的日期將到，以色列民在埃及興盛眾多，

18直到有不曉得約瑟的新王興起。

19他用詭計待我們的宗族，苦害我們的祖宗，叫他們丟棄嬰孩，使嬰孩不能存活。

20那時，摩西生下來，俊美非凡，在他父親家裏撫養了三個月。

21他被丟棄的時候，法老的女兒拾了去，養為自己的兒子。

22摩西學了埃及人一切的學問，說話行事都有才能。

23「他將到四十歲，心中起意去看望他的弟兄以色列人；

24到了那裏，見他們一個人受冤屈，就護庇他，為那受欺壓的人報仇，打死了那埃及人。

25他以為弟兄必明白上帝是藉他的手搭救他們；他們卻不明白。

26第二天，遇見兩個以色列人爭鬥，就勸他們和睦，說：『你們二位是弟兄，為甚麼彼此欺負呢？』

27那欺負鄰舍的把他推開，說：『誰立你作我們的首領和審判官呢？

28難道你要殺我，像昨天殺那埃及人嗎？』

29摩西聽見這話就逃走了，寄居於米甸；在那裏生了兩個兒子。

30「過了四十年，在西奈山的曠野，有一位天使從荊棘火焰中向摩西顯現。

31摩西見了那異象，便覺希奇，正進前觀看的時候，有主的聲音說：

32『我是你列祖的上帝，就是亞伯拉罕的上帝，以撒的上帝，雅各的上帝。』摩西戰戰兢兢，不敢觀看。

33主對他說：『把你腳上的鞋脫下來，因為你所站之地是聖地。

34我的百姓在埃及所受的困苦，我實在看見了，他們悲歎的聲音，我也聽見了。我下來要救他們。你來！我要差你往埃及去。』

35這摩西就是百姓棄絕說『誰立你作我們的首領和審判官』的；上帝卻藉那在荊棘中顯現之使者的手差派他作首領、作救贖的。

36這人領百姓出來，在埃及，在紅海，在曠野，四十年間行了奇事神蹟。

37那曾對以色列人說『上帝要從你們弟兄中間給你們興起一位先知像我』的，就是這位摩西。

38這人曾在曠野會中和西奈山上，與那對他說話的天使同在，又與我們的祖宗同在，並且領受活潑的聖言傳給我們。

39我們的祖宗不肯聽從，反棄絕他，心裏歸向埃及，

40對亞倫說：『你且為我們造些神像，在我們前面引路；因為領我們出埃及地的那個摩西，我們不知道他遭了甚麼事。』

41那時，他們造了一個牛犢，又拿祭物獻給那像，歡喜自己手中的工作。

42上帝就轉臉不顧，任憑他們事奉天上的日月星辰，正如先知書上所寫的說：以色列家啊， 你們四十年間在曠野， 豈是將犧牲和祭物獻給我嗎？

43你們抬着摩洛的帳幕和理番神的星， 就是你們所造為要敬拜的像。 因此，我要把你們遷到巴比倫外去。

44「我們的祖宗在曠野，有法櫃的帳幕，是上帝吩咐摩西叫他照所看見的樣式做的。

45這帳幕，我們的祖宗相繼承受。當上帝在他們面前趕出外邦人去的時候，他們同約書亞把帳幕搬進承受為業之地，直存到大衛的日子。

46大衛在上帝面前蒙恩，祈求為雅各的上帝預備居所；

47卻是所羅門為上帝造成殿宇。

48其實，至高者並不住人手所造的，就如先知所言：

49主說：天是我的座位，地是我的腳凳； 你們要為我造何等的殿宇？ 哪裏是我安息的地方呢？

50這一切不都是我手所造的嗎？

51「你們這硬着頸項、心與耳未受割禮的人，常時抗拒聖靈！你們的祖宗怎樣，你們也怎樣。

52哪一個先知不是你們祖宗逼迫呢？他們也把預先傳說那義者要來的人殺了；如今你們又把那義者賣了，殺了。

53你們受了天使所傳的律法，竟不遵守。」

眾人用石頭打死司提反

54眾人聽見這話就極其惱怒，向司提反咬牙切齒。

55但司提反被聖靈充滿，定睛望天，看見上帝的榮耀，又看見耶穌站在上帝的右邊，

56就說：「我看見天開了，人子站在上帝的右邊。」

57眾人大聲喊叫，摀着耳朵，齊心擁上前去，

58把他推到城外，用石頭打他。作見證的人把衣裳放在一個少年人名叫掃羅的腳前。

59他們正用石頭打的時候，司提反呼籲主說：「求主耶穌接收我的靈魂！」

60又跪下大聲喊着說：「主啊，不要將這罪歸於他們！」說了這話，就睡了。掃羅也喜悅他被害。