^7:39Our¹¹⁰ ancestors¹¹¹ were unwilling to obey¹¹² him, but pushed him aside¹¹³ and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, ^7:40saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt¹¹⁴—we do not know what has happened to him!’¹¹⁵^7:41At¹¹⁶ that time¹¹⁷ they made an idol in the form of a calf,¹¹⁸ brought¹¹⁹ a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing¹²⁰ in the works of their hands.¹²¹^7:42But God turned away from them and gave them over¹²² to worship the host¹²³ of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices¹²⁴ forty years in the wilderness, was it,¹²⁵ house of Israel?

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Footnotes

110 Grk “whom our.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.
111 Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
112 To obey. Again the theme of the speech is noted. The nation disobeyed the way of God and opted for Egypt over the promised land.
113 Pushed him aside. This is the second time Moses is “pushed aside” in Stephen’s account (see v. 27).
114 Or simply “of Egypt.” The phrase “the land of” could be omitted as unnecessary or redundant.
115 A quotation from Exod 32:1, 23. Doubt (we do not know what has happened to him) expresses itself in unfaithful action. The act is in contrast to God’s promise in Exod 23:20.
116 Grk “And.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
117 Grk “In those days.”
118 Or “a bull calf” (see Exod 32:4–6). The term μοσχοποιέω (moschopoieō) occurs only in Christian writings according to
119 Grk “and brought,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
120 The imperfect verb εὐφραίνοντο (euphrainonto) has been translated ingressively. See εὐφραίνω 2.
121 Or “in what they had done.”
122 The expression and gave them over suggests similarities to the judgment on the nations described by Paul in Rom 1:18–32.
123 Or “stars.” To worship the hosts of heaven. Their action violated Deut 4:19; 17:2–5. See Ps 106:36–43.
124 The two terms for sacrifices “semantically reinforce one another and are here combined essentially for emphasis” (L&N 53.20).
125 The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question, “was it?”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

“ ‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,

during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets:

“ ‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings

forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron: Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him. They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made. God turned away and gave them up to worship the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

House of Israel, did you bring me offerings and sacrifices

for forty years in the wilderness?

NLTNew Living Translation

“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. They 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.’ So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. Then 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?

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

to whom our fathers were not willing to become obedient, but rejected him and turned back in their hearts to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go on before us! For this Moses, who led us out from the land of Egypt—we do not know what has happened to him!’ And they manufactured a calf in those days, and offered up a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing in the works of their hands. But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets:

‘You did not bring offerings and sacrifices to me

for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel?

KJV 1900King James Version

To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, Saying 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. And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. 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?

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