Acts 7:35–8:4
35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’t He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egyptu and performed wonders and signsv in Egypt, at the Red Seaw and for forty years in the wilderness.x
37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’h y 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angelz who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors;a and he received living wordsb to pass on to us.c
39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.d 40 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!’i e 41 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.f 42 But God turned away from themg and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars.h 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?
43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek
and the star of your god Rephan,
the idols you made to worship.
Therefore I will send you into exile’j i beyond Babylon.
44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant lawj with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.k 45 After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them.l It remained in the land until the time of David,m 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.k n 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.o
48 “However, the Most Highp does not live in houses made by human hands.q As the prophet says:
and the earth is my footstool.r
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
50 Has not my hand made all these things?’l s
51 “You stiff-necked people!t Your heartsu and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?v They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered himw—53 you who have received the law that was given through angelsx but have not obeyed it.”
54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furiousy and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,z looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.a 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven openb and the Son of Manc standing at the right hand of God.”
57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the cityd and began to stone him.e Meanwhile, the witnessesf laid their coatsg at the feet of a young man named Saul.h
59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”i 60 Then he fell on his kneesj and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”k When he had said this, he fell asleep.l
8 And Saulm approved of their killing him.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scatteredn throughout Judea and Samaria.o 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saulp began to destroy the church.q Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
4 Those who had been scatteredr preached the word wherever they went.s