Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Court » Accused spoke in his own defense
But Peter and the apostles answered [and] said, "It is necessary to obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed [by] hanging [him] on a tree. This one God has exalted to his right hand [as] Leader and Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. read more.
And we are witnesses of these things, and [so is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."
And we are witnesses of these things, and [so is] the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him."
And they called them [back] [and] commanded [them] not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered [and] said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! For we are not able to refrain from speaking about [the things] that we have seen and heard."
Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and to all the people, {saying}, "{This man deserves the death sentence}, because he has prophesied against this city as that [which] you have heard with your ears." Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and to all the people, {saying}, "Yahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. Now {therefore} amend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and Yahweh will relent of the disaster that he has spoken over you. read more.
But [as for] me, look, I [am] in your hand, do to me what [is] good and right in your eyes. Only you must certainly know that if you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves innocent blood, and on this city and on its inhabitants, for {truly} Yahweh sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears." Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, "{This man does not deserve} a sentence of death, for in the name of Yahweh our God, he has spoken to us."
But [as for] me, look, I [am] in your hand, do to me what [is] good and right in your eyes. Only you must certainly know that if you put me to death, you will bring on yourselves innocent blood, and on this city and on its inhabitants, for {truly} Yahweh sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears." Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and to the prophets, "{This man does not deserve} a sentence of death, for in the name of Yahweh our God, he has spoken to us."
And the chief priests began to accuse him [of] many [things]. So Pilate asked him again, saying, "Do you not answer anything? See how many [charges] they are bringing against you!" But Jesus did not answer anything further, so that Pilate was astonished.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed [done to] a sick man--by what [means] this man was healed-- let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man stands before you healthy! read more.
This one is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become {the cornerstone}. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."
This one is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become {the cornerstone}. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."
And the high priest said, "Is it so concerning these [things]?" So he said, "Men--brothers and fathers--listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham [while he] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.' read more.
Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. And he did not give him an inheritance in it--not even a footstep--and he promised to give [it] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, {although he did not have} a child. But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years, and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [did so with] Jacob, and Jacob [did so with] the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. So [when] Jacob heard [there] was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And on the second [visit] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all]. And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This man deceitfully took advantage of our people [and] mistreated our ancestors, {causing them to abandon their infants} so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house, and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds. "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?' But the one who was doing wrong to [his] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? You do not want to do away with me {the same way} you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, [do you]?' And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came: 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it]. And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. {I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness [for] forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.' This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 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? And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!' The tabernacle of the testimony {belonged} to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed [him] to make it according to the design that he had seen, and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in [houses] made by human hands, just as the prophet says, 'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these [things]?' "[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!" Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. And he did not give him an inheritance in it--not even a footstep--and he promised to give [it] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, {although he did not have} a child. But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years, and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [did so with] Jacob, and Jacob [did so with] the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. So [when] Jacob heard [there] was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And on the second [visit] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all]. And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This man deceitfully took advantage of our people [and] mistreated our ancestors, {causing them to abandon their infants} so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house, and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds. "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?' But the one who was doing wrong to [his] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? You do not want to do away with me {the same way} you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, [do you]?' And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came: 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it]. And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. {I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness [for] forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.' This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 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? And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!' The tabernacle of the testimony {belonged} to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed [him] to make it according to the design that he had seen, and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in [houses] made by human hands, just as the prophet says, 'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these [things]?' "[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!" Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, "Men [and] brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day." So the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike his mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, [you] whitewashed wall! And are you sitting [there] judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?" read more.
And those who stood nearby said, "Are you reviling the high priest of God? And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, 'You must not speak evil [of] a ruler of your people.'" Now [when] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, "Men [and] brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!" And [when] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
And those who stood nearby said, "Are you reviling the high priest of God? And Paul said, "I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, 'You must not speak evil [of] a ruler of your people.'" Now [when] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, "Men [and] brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!" And [when] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
Egypt » Famine in
And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food.
Verse Concepts
Government » Mosaic » Constitutes, with priests and scribes, a court for the trial of both civil and ecclesiastical causes
And he began to teach them that it was necessary [for] the Son of Man to suffer many [things] and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise.
Verse Concepts
Now [when it] was early morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus in order to put him to death. And [after] tying him up, they led [him] away and handed [him] over to Pilate the governor.
And [after] he arrived at the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him [while he] was teaching, saying, "By what authority are you doing these [things]? And who gave you this authority?"
Verse Concepts
And as soon as morning [came], [after] formulating a plan, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, tied up Jesus, led [him] away, and handed [him] over to Pilate.
Verse Concepts
Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, and plotted in order that they could arrest Jesus by stealth and kill [him]. But they were saying, "Not during the feast, so that there will not be an uproar among the people."
Now those who had arrested Jesus led [him] away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. But Peter was following him from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest. And he went inside [and] was sitting with the officers to see the outcome. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false testimony against Jesus in order that they could put him to death. read more.
And they did not find [it], [although] many false witnesses came forward. And finally two came forward [and] said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild [it] within three days.'" And the high priest stood up [and] said to him, "Do you reply nothing? What are these [people] testifying against you?" But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they answered [and] said, "{He deserves death}!" Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists, and they slapped [him], saying, "Prophesy for us, [you] Christ! Who is it who hit you?"
And they did not find [it], [although] many false witnesses came forward. And finally two came forward [and] said, "This man said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild [it] within three days.'" And the high priest stood up [and] said to him, "Do you reply nothing? What are these [people] testifying against you?" But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "You have said [it]. But I tell you, from now [on] you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have just now heard the blasphemy! What do you think?" And they answered [and] said, "{He deserves death}!" Then they spat in his face and struck him with their fists, and they slapped [him], saying, "Prophesy for us, [you] Christ! Who is it who hit you?"
And immediately, [while] he was still speaking, Judas--one of the twelve--arrived, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the one who was betraying him had given them a sign, saying, "[The one] whom I kiss--he is [the one]. Arrest him and lead [him] away under guard!" And [when he] arrived, he came up to him immediately [and] said, "Rabbi," and kissed him. read more.
So they laid hands on him and arrested him. But a certain one of the bystanders, drawing [his] sword, struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? Every day I was with you in the temple [courts] teaching, and you did not arrest me! But [this has happened] in order that the scriptures would be fulfilled. And they all abandoned him [and] fled. And a certain young man was following him, clothed [only] in a linen cloth on [his] naked body. And they attempted to seize him, but he left behind the linen cloth [and] fled naked. And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter followed him from a distance, right inside, into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the officers and warming himself by the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, and they did not find [it]. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony was not consistent. And some stood up [and] began to give false testimony against him, saying, "We heard him saying, 'I will destroy this temple made by hands, and within three days I will build another not made by hands." And their testimony was not even consistent about this. And the high priest stood up in the midst [of them] [and] asked Jesus, saying, "Do you not reply anything? What are these [people] testifying against you?" But he was silent and did not reply anything. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his clothes [and] said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What {do you think}?" And they all condemned him {as deserving death}. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him with their fists, and to say to him "Prophesy!" And the officers received him with slaps in the face.
So they laid hands on him and arrested him. But a certain one of the bystanders, drawing [his] sword, struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered [and] said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? Every day I was with you in the temple [courts] teaching, and you did not arrest me! But [this has happened] in order that the scriptures would be fulfilled. And they all abandoned him [and] fled. And a certain young man was following him, clothed [only] in a linen cloth on [his] naked body. And they attempted to seize him, but he left behind the linen cloth [and] fled naked. And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter followed him from a distance, right inside, into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the officers and warming himself by the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, and they did not find [it]. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony was not consistent. And some stood up [and] began to give false testimony against him, saying, "We heard him saying, 'I will destroy this temple made by hands, and within three days I will build another not made by hands." And their testimony was not even consistent about this. And the high priest stood up in the midst [of them] [and] asked Jesus, saying, "Do you not reply anything? What are these [people] testifying against you?" But he was silent and did not reply anything. Again the high priest asked him and said to him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." And the high priest tore his clothes [and] said, "What further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy! What {do you think}?" And they all condemned him {as deserving death}. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him with their fists, and to say to him "Prophesy!" And the officers received him with slaps in the face.
And Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come out against him, "Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber? Every day [when] I was with you in the temple [courts], you did not stretch out [your] hands against me! But this is your hour and the domain of darkness!" And they arrested him [and] led [him] away and brought [him] into the house of the high priest. But Peter was following at a distance. read more.
And [when they] had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. And a certain female slave, seeing him sitting in the light and looking intently at him, said, "This man also was with him!" But he denied [it], saying, "Woman, I do not know him!" And after a short time another person saw him [and] said, "You also are [one] of them!" But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" And [after] about one hour had passed, someone else was insisting, saying, "In truth this man also was with him, because he is also a Galilean!" But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about!" And immediately, [while] he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. And the Lord turned around [and] looked intently at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went outside [and] wept bitterly. And the men who were guarding him began to mock him [while] they beat [him], and [after] blindfolding him they repeatedly asked [him], saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you?" And they were saying many other [things] against him, reviling [him]. And when day came, the council of elders of the people gathered, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their Sanhedrin, saying, "If you are the Christ, tell us!" But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will never believe, and if I ask [you], you will never answer! But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." So they all said, "Are you then the Son of God?" And he said to them, "You say that I am." And they said, "Why do we have need [of] further testimony? For [we] ourselves have heard [it] from his mouth!"
And [when they] had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. And a certain female slave, seeing him sitting in the light and looking intently at him, said, "This man also was with him!" But he denied [it], saying, "Woman, I do not know him!" And after a short time another person saw him [and] said, "You also are [one] of them!" But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" And [after] about one hour had passed, someone else was insisting, saying, "In truth this man also was with him, because he is also a Galilean!" But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about!" And immediately, [while] he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. And the Lord turned around [and] looked intently at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went outside [and] wept bitterly. And the men who were guarding him began to mock him [while] they beat [him], and [after] blindfolding him they repeatedly asked [him], saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck you?" And they were saying many other [things] against him, reviling [him]. And when day came, the council of elders of the people gathered, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their Sanhedrin, saying, "If you are the Christ, tell us!" But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will never believe, and if I ask [you], you will never answer! But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God." So they all said, "Are you then the Son of God?" And he said to them, "You say that I am." And they said, "Why do we have need [of] further testimony? For [we] ourselves have heard [it] from his mouth!"
And [while] they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees approached them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them and put [them] in custody until the next day, because it was already evening. read more.
But many of those who listened to the message believed, and the number of the men was approximately five thousand. And it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes came together in Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all those who were from the high priest's family. And they made them stand in [their] midst [and] began to ask, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed [done to] a sick man--by what [means] this man was healed-- let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man stands before you healthy! This one is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become {the cornerstone}. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved." Now [when they] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were astonished, and recognized them, that they had been with Jesus. And [because they] saw the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in return. But [after they] had ordered them to go outside the Sanhedrin, they began to confer with one another, saying, "What should we do with these men? For that a remarkable sign has taken place through them [is] evident to all those who live [in] Jerusalem, and we are not able to deny [it]! But in order that it may not spread much [further] among the people, let us warn them to speak no more in this name {to anyone at all}." And they called them [back] [and] commanded [them] not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered [and] said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! For we are not able to refrain from speaking about [the things] that we have seen and heard." So [after] threatening [them] further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.
But many of those who listened to the message believed, and the number of the men was approximately five thousand. And it happened that on the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes came together in Jerusalem, and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all those who were from the high priest's family. And they made them stand in [their] midst [and] began to ask, "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed [done to] a sick man--by what [means] this man was healed-- let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man stands before you healthy! This one is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become {the cornerstone}. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved." Now [when they] saw the boldness of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were astonished, and recognized them, that they had been with Jesus. And [because they] saw the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in return. But [after they] had ordered them to go outside the Sanhedrin, they began to confer with one another, saying, "What should we do with these men? For that a remarkable sign has taken place through them [is] evident to all those who live [in] Jerusalem, and we are not able to deny [it]! But in order that it may not spread much [further] among the people, let us warn them to speak no more in this name {to anyone at all}." And they called them [back] [and] commanded [them] not to speak or to teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered [and] said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you decide! For we are not able to refrain from speaking about [the things] that we have seen and heard." So [after] threatening [them] further, they released them, finding no way to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened.
But some of those from the Synagogue of the Freedmen ({as it was called}), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia, stood up [and] disputed with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, "We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God!" read more.
And they incited the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came up [and] seized him and brought [him] to the Sanhedrin. And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place and the law! For we have heard him saying that this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us." And [as they] looked intently at him, all those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin saw his face [was] like the face of an angel.
And they incited the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came up [and] seized him and brought [him] to the Sanhedrin. And they put forward false witnesses who said, "This man does not stop speaking words against the holy place and the law! For we have heard him saying that this Nazarene Jesus will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed down to us." And [as they] looked intently at him, all those who were sitting in the Sanhedrin saw his face [was] like the face of an angel.
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And the high priest said, "Is it so concerning these [things]?" So he said, "Men--brothers and fathers--listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham [while he] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.' read more.
Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. And he did not give him an inheritance in it--not even a footstep--and he promised to give [it] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, {although he did not have} a child. But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years, and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [did so with] Jacob, and Jacob [did so with] the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. So [when] Jacob heard [there] was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And on the second [visit] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all]. And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This man deceitfully took advantage of our people [and] mistreated our ancestors, {causing them to abandon their infants} so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house, and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds. "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?' But the one who was doing wrong to [his] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? You do not want to do away with me {the same way} you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, [do you]?' And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came: 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it]. And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. {I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness [for] forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.' This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 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? And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!' The tabernacle of the testimony {belonged} to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed [him] to make it according to the design that he had seen, and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in [houses] made by human hands, just as the prophet says, 'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these [things]?' "[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!" Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" But crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one purpose. And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they kept on stoning Stephen [as he] was calling out and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"
Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. And he did not give him an inheritance in it--not even a footstep--and he promised to give [it] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, {although he did not have} a child. But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years, and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [did so with] Jacob, and Jacob [did so with] the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. So [when] Jacob heard [there] was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And on the second [visit] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all]. And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This man deceitfully took advantage of our people [and] mistreated our ancestors, {causing them to abandon their infants} so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house, and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds. "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?' But the one who was doing wrong to [his] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? You do not want to do away with me {the same way} you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, [do you]?' And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came: 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it]. And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. {I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness [for] forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.' This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 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? And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!' The tabernacle of the testimony {belonged} to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed [him] to make it according to the design that he had seen, and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in [houses] made by human hands, just as the prophet says, 'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these [things]?' "[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!" Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" But crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one purpose. And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they kept on stoning Stephen [as he] was calling out and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"
Select readings » Stephen's defense
And the high priest said, "Is it so concerning these [things]?" So he said, "Men--brothers and fathers--listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham [while he] was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your relatives and come to the land that I will show you.' read more.
Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. And he did not give him an inheritance in it--not even a footstep--and he promised to give [it] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, {although he did not have} a child. But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years, and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [did so with] Jacob, and Jacob [did so with] the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. So [when] Jacob heard [there] was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And on the second [visit] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all]. And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This man deceitfully took advantage of our people [and] mistreated our ancestors, {causing them to abandon their infants} so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house, and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds. "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?' But the one who was doing wrong to [his] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? You do not want to do away with me {the same way} you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, [do you]?' And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came: 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it]. And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. {I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness [for] forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.' This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 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? And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!' The tabernacle of the testimony {belonged} to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed [him] to make it according to the design that he had seen, and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in [houses] made by human hands, just as the prophet says, 'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these [things]?' "[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!" Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"
Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans [and] settled in Haran. And from there, after his father died, he caused him to move to this land in which you now live. And he did not give him an inheritance in it--not even a footstep--and he promised to give [it] to him for his possession, and to his descendants after him, {although he did not have} a child. But God spoke like this: 'His descendants will be foreigners in a foreign land, and they will enslave them and mistreat [them] four hundred years, and the nation {that} they will serve as slaves, I will judge,' God said, 'and after these [things] they will come out and will worship me in this place.' And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac [did so with] Jacob, and Jacob [did so with] the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, [because they] were jealous of Joseph, sold [him] into Egypt. And God was with him, and rescued him from all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And he appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household. And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan and great affliction, and our fathers could not find food. So [when] Jacob heard [there] was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And on the second [visit] Joseph was made known to his brothers, and the family of Joseph became known to Pharaoh. So Joseph sent [and] summoned his father Jacob and all [his] relatives, seventy-five persons in [all]. And Jacob went down to Egypt and died, he and our fathers. And they were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. "But as the time of the promise that God had made to Abraham was drawing near, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This man deceitfully took advantage of our people [and] mistreated our ancestors, {causing them to abandon their infants} so that they would not be kept alive. At this time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. {He} was brought up [for] three months in [his] father's house, and [when] he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh took him [up] and brought him [up] {as her own son}. And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was powerful in his words and deeds. "But when {he was forty years old}, it entered in his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel. And [when he] saw one of them being unjustly harmed, he defended [him] and {avenged} the one who had been oppressed [by] striking down the Egyptian. And he thought his brothers would understand that God was granting deliverance to them by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day, he made an appearance to them [while they] were fighting and was attempting to reconcile them in peace, saying, 'Men [and] brothers, why are you doing wrong to one another?' But the one who was doing wrong to [his] neighbor pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? You do not want to do away with me {the same way} you did away with the Egyptian yesterday, [do you]?' And at this statement, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. "And [when] forty years had been completed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai in the flame of a burning bush. And [when] Moses saw [it], he was astonished at the sight, and [when] he approached to look at [it], the voice of the Lord came: 'I [am] the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob!' So Moses began trembling [and] did not dare to look at [it]. And the Lord said to him, 'Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. {I have certainly seen} the mistreatment of my people [who are] in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' This Moses whom they had repudiated, saying, 'Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?'--this man God sent [as] both ruler and redeemer with {the help} of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness [for] forty years. "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.' This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us, 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? And you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images that you made, to worship them, and I will deport you beyond Babylon!' The tabernacle of the testimony {belonged} to our fathers in the wilderness, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed [him] to make it according to the design that he had seen, and which, [after] receiving [it] in turn, our fathers brought in with Joshua {when they dispossessed the} nations that God drove out from the presence of our fathers, until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built a house for him. But the Most High does not live in [houses] made by human hands, just as the prophet says, 'Heaven [is] my throne and earth [is] the footstool for my feet. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what [is the] place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these [things]?' "[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!" Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"