1And the chief priest said, “Are then these things so?”
2And he said, “Men, brothers, and fathers, listen! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, being in Mesopotamia, before his dwelling in Haran,
3and He said to him, Go forth out of your land, and out of your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.
4Then having come forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, he dwelt in Haran, and from there, after the death of his father, He removed him to this land wherein you now dwell,
5and He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a footstep, and promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him—he having no child.
6And God spoke thus, that his seed will be sojourning in a strange land, and they will cause it to serve, and will do it evil [for] four hundred years.
7And the nation whom they will serve I will judge, said God; And after these things they will come forth and will do Me service in this place.
8And He gave to him a covenant of circumcision, and so he begot Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [begot] Jacob, and Jacob—the twelve patriarchs;
9and the patriarchs, having been moved with jealousy, sold Joseph to Egypt, and God was with him,
10and delivered him out of all his tribulations, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he set him—governor over Egypt and all his house.
11And there came a scarcity on all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and great tribulation, and our fathers were not finding sustenance,
12and Jacob having heard that there was grain in Egypt, sent forth our fathers a first time;
13and at the second time was Joseph made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became disclosed to Pharaoh,
14and Joseph having sent, called for his father Jacob, and all his relatives—with seventy-five souls—
15and Jacob went down to Egypt, and died, himself and our fathers,
16and they were carried over into Shechem, and were laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in money from the sons of Emmor, of Shechem.
17And according as the time of the promise was drawing near, which God swore to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt,
18until another king rose, who had not known Joseph;
19this one, having dealt subtly with our family, did evil to our fathers, causing to expose their babies, that they might not live;
20in which time Moses was born, and he was fair to God, and he was brought up [for] three months in the house of his father;
21and he having been set outside, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up, and reared him to herself for a son;
22and Moses was taught in all wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in words and in works.
23And when forty years were fulfilled to him, it came on his heart to look after his brothers, the sons of Israel;
24and having seen a certain one suffering injustice, he defended, and did justice to the oppressed, having struck the Egyptian;
25and he was supposing his brothers to understand that God gives salvation through his hand; and they did not understand.
26On the succeeding day, also, he showed himself to them as they are striving, and urged them to peace, saying, Men, you are brothers, why do you do injustice to one another?
27And he who is doing injustice to the neighbor, thrusted him away, saying, Who set you a ruler and a judge over us?
28Do you wish to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?
29And Moses fled at this word, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons,
30and forty years having been fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai [the] Messenger of the LORD, in a flame of fire of a bush,
31and Moses having seen, wondered at the sight; and he drawing near to behold, there came a voice of the LORD to him,
32I [am] the God of your fathers; the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses having become terrified, did not dare behold,
33and the LORD said to him, Loose the sandal of your feet, for the place in which you have stood is holy ground;
34seeing I have seen the affliction of My people that [is] in Egypt, and I heard their groaning, and came down to deliver them; and now come, I will send you to Egypt.
35This Moses, whom they refused, saying, Who set you a ruler and a judge? This one God sent [as] a ruler and a redeemer, by the hand of [the] Messenger who appeared to him in the bush;
36this one brought them forth, having done wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years;
37this is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel: The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet out of your brothers, like to me, Him will you hear.
38This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the Messenger who is speaking to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers who received the living oracles to give to us;
39to whom our fathers did not wish to become obedient, but thrusted away, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,
40saying to Aaron, Make to us gods who will go on before us, for this Moses, who brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, we have not known what has happened to him.
41And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in the works of their hands,
42and God turned, and gave them up to do service to the host of Heaven, according as it has been written in the scroll of the Prophets: Did you offer slain beasts and sacrifices to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43And you took up the dwelling place of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan—the figures that you made to worship them, and I will remove your dwelling beyond Babylon.
44The Dwelling Place of the Testimony was among our fathers in the wilderness, according as He directed, who is speaking to Moses, to make it according to the figure that he had seen;
45which also our fathers having in succession received, brought in with Joshua, into the possession of the nations whom God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David,
46who found favor before God, and requested to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob;
47and Solomon built Him a house.
48But the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, according as the prophet says:
49Heaven [is] My throne, || And the earth My footstool, || What house will you build to Me? Says the LORD; Or what [is] the place of My rest?
50Has My hand not made all these things?
51You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers—also you;
52which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who declared before about the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers,
53who received the Law by arrangement of messengers, and did not keep [it].”
54And hearing these things, they were cut to the hearts, and gnashed the teeth at him;
55and being full of the Holy Spirit, having looked steadfastly to the sky, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.”
57And they, having cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and rushed with one accord on him,
58and having cast him forth outside of the city, they were stoning [him]—and the witnesses put down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul—
59and they were stoning Stephen, [as he was] calling and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”;
60and having bowed the knees, he cried with a loud voice, “LORD, may You not lay to them this sin”; and having said this, he fell asleep.