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Stephen's Defense

¹ Now the ^(F1)high priest asked Stephen, "Are these charges true?"

² And he answered, "^(C1)Brothers and fathers, listen to me! ^(C2)The God of glory the Shekinah, the radiance of God ^(C3)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, ^(VR1)3 and He said to him, '^(C1)LEAVE YOUR COUNTRY AND YOUR RELATIVES, AND COME TO THE LAND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU.' ^(VR1)4 "^(C1)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. And ^(C2)from there, after his father died, God sent him to this country in which you now live. ^(VR1)5 "But He did not give him inheritable property, not even enough ground to take a step on, yet ^(C1)He promised that HE WOULD GIVE IT TO HIM AS A POSSESSION, AND TO HIS DESCENDANTS AFTER HIM. ^(VR1)6 "And ^(C1)this is, in effect, what God spoke to him: That his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE ALIENS (strangers) IN A FOREIGN LAND, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE ENSLAVED AND MISTREATED FOR FOUR HUNDRED YEARS.⁷ "'AND I WILL JUDGE ANY NATION TO WHOM THEY WILL BE IN BONDAGE,' said God, 'AND ^(C1)AFTER THAT THEY WILL COME OUT AND SERVE ME in worship IN THIS PLACE.' ^(VR1)8 "And God ^(C1)gave Abraham a covenant a formal agreement to be strictly observed of which circumcision was the sign; and so under these circumstances ^(C2)Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and ^(C3)Isaac became the father of ^(F1)Jacob, and ^(C4)Jacob became the father of the ^(F2)twelve ^(C5)patriarchs. ^(VR1)

⁹ "The ten elder patriarchs, overwhelmed with ^(C1)jealousy, sold their younger brother Joseph into slavery in Egypt; but God was with him, ^(VR1)10 and He rescued him from all his suffering, and ^(C1)gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made Joseph governor over Egypt and over his entire household. ^(VR1)

¹¹ "Now ^(C1)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great distress and our fathers could not find food for their households and livestock. ^(VR1)12 "But ^(C1)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. ^(VR1)13 "And on the second visit ^(C1)Joseph identified himself to his brothers, and ^(C2)Joseph's family and background were revealed to Pharaoh. ^(VR1)14 "Then ^(C1)Joseph sent and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, ^(C2)seventy-five ^(C3)persons in all. ^(VR1)15 "And ^(C1)Jacob (Israel) went down into Egypt, and ^(F1)there he died, as did our fathers; ^(VR1)16 and from Egypt ^(F1)their bodies were taken back to ^(C1)Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. ^(VR1)

¹⁷ "But as the ^(C1)time for the fulfillment of the promise which God had made to Abraham was approaching, ^(C2)the Hebrew people increased and multiplied in Egypt, ^(VR1)18 until the time when ^(C1)THERE AROSE ANOTHER KING OVER EGYPT WHO DID NOT KNOW JOSEPH nor his history and the merit of his service to Egypt. ^(VR1)19 "He ^(C1)shrewdly exploited our race and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to ^(C2)expose their male babies so that they would die. ^(VR1)20 "It was at this critical time that ^(C1)Moses was born; and he was lovely in the sight of God, and for three months he was nourished in his father's house. ^(VR1)21 "Then when he was set outside to die, ^(C1)Pharaoh's daughter rescued him and claimed him for herself, and cared for him as her own son. ^(VR1)22 "So Moses was educated in all ^(C1)the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.²³ "But when he reached the age of forty, ^(C1)it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel.²⁴ "And when he saw one of them being treated unfairly, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking and killing the Egyptian.²⁵ "He expected his countrymen to understand that God was granting them freedom through him assuming that they would accept him, but they did not understand.²⁶ "^(C1)Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?'²⁷ "But the man who was injuring his neighbor pushed Moses away, saying, '^(C1)WHO APPOINTED YOU RULER AND JUDGE OVER US?²⁸ '^(C1)DO YOU INTEND TO KILL ME AS YOU KILLED THE EGYPTIAN YESTERDAY?'²⁹ "At this remark ^(C1)MOSES FLED AND BECAME AN EXILE IN THE LAND OF MIDIAN, where he ^(C2)fathered two sons. ^(VR1)

³⁰ "After forty years had passed, ^(C1)AN ANGEL APPEARED TO HIM IN THE WILDERNESS OF MOUNT ^(F1)Sinai, IN THE FLAME OF A BURNING THORN BUSH.³¹ "When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; but as he went near to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying:³² '^(C1)I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHERS, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM AND OF ISAAC AND OF JACOB.' Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.³³ "^(C1)THEN THE LORD SAID TO HIM, '^(C2)REMOVE THE SANDALS FROM YOUR FEET, FOR THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE STANDING IS HOLY GROUND worthy of reverence and respect.³⁴ '^(C1)I HAVE MOST CERTAINLY SEEN THE OPPRESSION OF MY PEOPLE IN EGYPT AND HAVE HEARD THEIR GROANING, AND I HAVE COME DOWN TO RESCUE THEM. ^(C2)NOW COME, AND I WILL SEND YOU TO EGYPT as My messenger.' ^(VR1)

³⁵ "This Moses whom they ^(C1)rejected, saying, 'WHO MADE YOU A RULER AND A JUDGE?' is the very one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, with the protecting and helping hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. ^(VR1)36 "^(C1)This man led them out of Egypt after performing ^(C2)wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the ^(C3)wilderness for forty years. ^(VR1)37 "This is the Moses who said to the children of Israel, '^(C1)GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET ^(F1)LIKE ME FROM YOUR COUNTRYMEN.' ^(VR1)38 "This is the one who was in ^(C1)the congregation in the wilderness together with ^(C2)the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received ^(C3)living ^(C4)oracles divine words that still live to be handed down to you. ^(VR1)39 "Our fathers were unwilling to be subject to him and refused to listen to him. They ^(C1)rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. ^(VR1)40 "^(C1)THEY SAID TO AARON, 'MAKE FOR US GODS WHO WILL GO BEFORE US; FOR THIS MOSES WHO LED US OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT, WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HIM.' ^(VR1)41 "In those days ^(C1)they made a calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced and celebrated over ^(C2)the works of their hands. ^(VR1)42 "But God ^(C1)turned away from them and handed them over to serve the ^(F1)host of heaven. As it is written and forever remains written in the book of the prophets, '^(C2)IT WAS NOT really TO ME THAT YOU OFFERED VICTIMS AND SACRIFICES FOR ^(C3)FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS, WAS IT, O HOUSE OF ISRAEL? ^(VR1)43 '^(C1)YOU ALSO TOOK ALONG THE TABERNACLE (portable temple) OF MOLOCH AND THE STAR OF THE GOD ROMPHA, THE IMAGES WHICH YOU MADE TO WORSHIP; AND I WILL REMOVE YOU BEYOND BABYLON carrying you away into exile.' ^(VR1)

⁴⁴ "Our fathers had ^(C1)the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God directed Moses to make it ^(C2)according to the pattern which he had seen. ^(VR1)45 "Our fathers also ^(C1)brought it in with them into the land with Joshua when they dispossessed the ^(F1)nations whom God drove out before our fathers, and so it remained here until the time of David, ^{(VR1)46 (C1)}who found favor (grace, spiritual blessing) in the sight of God and ^(C2)asked that he might be allowed to find a dwelling place for the ^(F1)God of Jacob. ^(VR1)47 "But it was ^(C1)Solomon who built a house for Him. ^(VR1)48 "However, ^(C1)the Most High the One infinitely exalted above humanity does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet Isaiah says, ^(VR1)

⁴⁹ '^(C1)HEAVEN IS MY THRONE,
AND THE EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL FOR MY FEET;
WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?' says the Lord,
'OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REST?

⁵⁰ '^(C1)WAS IT NOT MY HAND THAT MADE ALL THESE THINGS?' ^(VR1)

⁵¹ "You ^(C1)stiff-necked and stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did. ^(VR1)52 "^(C1)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who proclaimed beforehand the coming of ^(C2)the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers ^(C3)you have now become;⁵³ you who received the law as ^(C1)ordained and delivered to you by angels, and yet you did not obey it!"

Stephen Put to Death

⁵⁴ Now when ^(F1)they heard this accusation and understood its implication, they were ^(C1)cut to the heart, and they began grinding their teeth in rage at him.⁵⁵ But he, being ^(C1)full of the Holy Spirit and led by Him, ^(C2)gazed into heaven and saw the glory the great splendor and majesty of God, and Jesus standing ^(C3)at the right hand of God;⁵⁶ and he said, "Look! I see the ^(C1)heavens opened up in welcome and ^(F1)(C2)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"⁵⁷ But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and together rushed at him considering him guilty of blasphemy.⁵⁸ Then they ^(C1)drove him out of the city and began stoning him; and ^(C2)the witnesses ^(C3)placed their outer robes at the feet of ^(C4)a young man named ^(F1)Saul. ^(VR1)59 They continued stoning Stephen as he ^(C1)called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!"⁶⁰ Then ^(C1)falling on his knees in worship, he cried out loudly, "Lord, ^(C2)do not hold this sin against them do not charge them!" When he had said this, he ^(C3)fell asleep in death.