Acts 7:1-19

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Stephen’s Speech to the Council

7 Then the high priest asked him, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen replied:

“Brothers^[a] and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,^{(A) 3} and said to him, ‘Leave your country and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you.’^{(B) 4} Then he left the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God had him move from there to this country in which you are now living.^{(C) 5} He did not give him any of it as a heritage, not even a foot’s length, but promised to give it to him as his possession and to his descendants after him, even though he had no child.^{(D) 6} And God spoke in these terms, that his descendants would be resident aliens in a country belonging to others, who would enslave them and mistreat them during four hundred years.^{(E) 7} ‘But I will judge the people whom they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’^{(F) 8} Then he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham^[b] became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac did likewise to Jacob and Jacob to the twelve patriarchs.^(G)

⁹ “The patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him^{(H) 10} and rescued him from all his afflictions and enabled him to win favor and to show wisdom when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.^{(I) 11} Now there came a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan and great suffering, and our ancestors could find no food.^{(J) 12} But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on their first visit.^{(K) 13} On the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh.^{(L) 14} Then Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come to him, seventy-five in all;^{(M) 15} so Jacob went down to Egypt. He himself died there as well as our ancestors,^{(N) 16} and their bodies^[c] were brought back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.^(O)

¹⁷ “But as the time drew near for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased and multiplied^{(P) 18} until another king who had not known Joseph ruled over Egypt. ¹⁹ He dealt craftily with our people and forced our ancestors to abandon their infants so that they would die.^(Q)