| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” | 1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” |
| 2This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. | 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, |
| 3God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ | 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 lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. | 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. |
| 5“But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. | 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 also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. | 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 in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’ | 7‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’ |
| 8“God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation. | 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. |
| 9“These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him | 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. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace. | 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. |
| 11“But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food. | 11Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food. |
| 12Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some. | 12When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. |
| 13The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh. | 13On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh. |
| 14Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all. | 14Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all. |
| 15So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. | 15So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. |
| 16Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem. | 16Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver. |
| 17“As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. | 17As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number. |
| 18But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. | 18Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt. |
| 19This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die. | 19He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die. |
| 20“At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. | 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 they had to abandon him, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. | 21When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. |
| 22Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action. | 22So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. |
| 23“One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. | 23When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. |
| 24He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. | 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. |
| 25Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t. | 25He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not. |
| 26“The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’ | 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?’ |
| 27“But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. | 27But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? |
| 28‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ | 28Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ |
| 29When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born. | 29At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons. |
| 30“Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. | 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 was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the LORD called out to him, | 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 ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look. | 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. |
| 33“Then the LORD said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. | 33Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. |
| 34I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’ | 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.’ |
| 35“So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior. | 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 angel who appeared to him in the bush. |
| 36And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years. | 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. |
| 37“Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’ | 37This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ |
| 38Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us. | 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. |
| 39“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. | 39But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. |
| 40They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of 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.’ |
| 41So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. | 41At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands. |
| 42Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel? | 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 offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? |
| 43No, you carried your pagan gods— the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.’ | 43You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ |
| 44“Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. | 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. |
| 45Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David. | 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, |
| 46“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. | 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 actually built it. | 47But it was Solomon who built the house for Him. |
| 48However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says, | 48However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: |
| 49‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that?’ asks the LORD. ‘Could you build me such a resting place? | 49‘Heaven is My throne and 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? |
| 50Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’ | 50Has not My hand made all these things?’ |
| 51“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! | 51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did. |
| 52Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. | 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 deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.” | 53you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.” |
| 54The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. | 54On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him. |
| 55But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. | 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. |
| 56And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” | 56“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” |
| 57Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him | 57At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him. |
| 58and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul. | 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. |
| 59As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” | 59While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” |
| 60He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. | 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. |
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