Bible: The New Testament: The Acts of the Apostles (I - VII)

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The former narration I made, O Theophilus, concerning all things that Jesus began both to do and to teach, ²until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment, through the Holy Spirit, to the apostles whom he chose; ³to whom also he showed himself living, after he had suffered, by many infallible proofs, during forty days appearing to them, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God.

⁴And, being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which ye heard from me; ⁵for John indeed immersed in water; but ye shall be immersed in the Holy Spirit, not many days hence.

⁶They therefore, having come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? ⁷And he said to them: It is not yours to know times or seasons, which the Father appointed by his own authority. ⁸But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and Samaria, and unto the utmost part of the earth.

⁹And having spoken these things, while they beheld he was borne up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they were looking intently into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; ¹¹who also said: Men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye saw him going into heaven.

¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey. ¹³And when they came in, they went up into the upper room, where were abiding both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. ¹⁴These all continued with one accord in prayer, with women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

¹⁵And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said (the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty): ¹⁶Men, brethren, it was necessary that the scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit by the mouth of David spoke before concerning Judas, who became guide to those who took Jesus. ¹⁷Because he was numbered with us, and obtained the office of this ministry.— ¹⁸Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. ¹⁹And it became known to all who dwell at Jerusalem; so that that field was called, in their own tongue, Aceldama, that is, Field of blood.— ²⁰For it is written in the book of Psalms:

Let his habitation be made desolate,

And let no one dwell therein.

And:

Let another take his office.

²¹Therefore, of these men, who accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ²²beginning from John's immersion, unto the day when he was taken up from us, must one be made a witness with us of his resurrection.

²³And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. ²⁴And they prayed, saying: Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all, show which of these two thou didst choose, ²⁵that he may take part in this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell away, that he might go to his own place. ²⁶And they gave their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

II.

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. ²And suddenly there came a sound out of heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. ³And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed among them; and it sat upon each of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

⁵Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶And this being noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because every man heard them speak in his own language. ⁷And all were amazed, and wondered, saying one to another Behold, are not all these who speak Galilæans? ⁸And how do we hear, every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born, ⁹Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and those who inhabit Mesopotamia, Judæa and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretes and Arabians, hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God? ¹²And all were amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another: What may this mean? ¹³But others mocking said: They are filled with sweet wine.

¹⁴But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them: Men of Judæa, and all that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and hearken to my words. ¹⁵For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, for it is the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

¹⁷And it shall be in the last days, saith God,

That I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh;

And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

And your young men shall see visions,

And your old men shall dream dreams;

¹⁸And even on my servants and on my handmaids,

I will pour out of my Spirit in those days,

And they shall prophesy.

¹⁹And I will show wonders in heaven above,

And signs in the earth beneath,

Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

²⁰The sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood,

Before the great and notable day of the Lord shall come.

²¹And it shall be, that every one who shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

²²Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus the Nazarene, a man accredited to you from God by miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God wrought by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know; ²³this man, delivered up according to the established counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye slew, crucifying him by the hand of lawless ones; ²⁴whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death; because it was not possible that he should be held by it. ²⁵For David says concerning him:

I saw the Lord always before me;

Because he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.

²⁶For this my heart rejoiced, and my tongue exulted;

Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope;

²⁷Because thou wilt not abandon my soul to the underworld,

Nor wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.

²⁸Thou didst make known to me the ways of life;

Thou wilt make me full of joy with thy presence.

²⁹Men, brethren, I may speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his sepulchre is among us unto this day. ³⁰Being a prophet, therefore, and knowing that God swore to him, with an oath, that of the fruit of his loins one should sit on his throne, ³¹he, foreseeing, spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was his soul abandoned to the underworld, nor did his flesh see corruption.

³²This Jesus God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. ³³Being therefore exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured forth this, which ye now see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend into heaven; but he says himself:

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit on my right hand,

³⁵Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

³⁶Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God made him, this Jesus whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ.

³⁷And hearing this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: Men, brethren, what shall we do? ³⁸And Peter said to them: Repent, and be each of you immersed, upon the name of Jesus Christ, unto remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall have called.

⁴⁰And with many other words did he bear witness and exhort, saying: Save yourselves from this perverse generation.

⁴¹They therefore, having received his word, were immersed and on that day there were added about three thousand souls. ⁴²And they were constantly attending on the teaching of the apostles, and the distribution, and the breaking of bread, and prayers. ⁴³And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were wrought through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all that believed were together, and had all things common; ⁴⁵and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as any one had need. ⁴⁶And daily attending with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they partook of food with gladness and singleness of heart, ⁴⁷praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who are saved.

III.

And Peter and John were going up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. ²And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried along, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, the one called Beautiful, to ask alms of those entering into the temple; ³who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked alms. ⁴And Peter, looking intently upon him, with John, said: Look upon us. ⁵And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶And Peter said: Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, rise up and walk. ⁷And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles received strength; ⁸and leaping forth, he stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. ⁹And all the people saw him walking and praising God; ¹⁰and they recognized him, that this was he who sat for alms at the beautiful gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened to him.

¹¹And as he held fast to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. ¹²And Peter, seeing it, answered to the people: Men of Israel, why wonder ye at this? Or why look ye so intently on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man to walk? ¹³The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he decided to release him. ¹⁴But ye denied the Holy and Just, and demanded that a murderer should be granted to you. ¹⁵But the Author of life ye killed; whom God raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. ¹⁶And his name, upon the faith in his name, made this man strong, whom ye see and know; and the faith, which is through Him, gave him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

¹⁷And now, brethren, I know that ye acted in ignorance, as also your rulers. ¹⁸But thus God fulfilled what he before announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ should suffer. ¹⁹Repent therefore, and turn, that your sins may be blotted out, in order that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; ²⁰and that he may send forth Jesus Christ, before appointed for you; ²¹whom the heavens, indeed, must receive, until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke of by the mouth of all his holy prophets from the beginning. ²²Moses said: A Prophet will the Lord your God raise up to you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatever he shall say to you. ²³And it shall be that every soul, that will not hear that Prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. ²⁴And also all the prophets from Samuel, both he and they who followed, as many as spoke, also foretold these days.

²⁵Ye are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. ²⁶Unto you first, God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

IV.

And while they were speaking to the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, ²being indignant because they taught the people, and announced in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³And they laid hands on them, and put them in prison unto the morrow; for it was now evening.

⁴But many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men became about five thousand.

⁵And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, ⁶and Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together unto Jerusalem. ⁷And having set them in the midst, they asked: By what power, or by what name, did ye do this?

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: Rulers of the people, and elders of Israel; ⁹if we are this day examined in respect to a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this person has been made whole; ¹⁰be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him does this man stand here before you whole. ¹¹He is the stone that was set at naught by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. ¹²And there is salvation in no other; for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, in which we must be saved.

¹³And seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlearned and obscure men, they wondered; and they recognized them, that they were with Jesus. ¹⁴And beholding the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it. ¹⁵But having commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶saying: What shall we do to these men? For that a notorious miracle has been done by them is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem, and we are not able to deny it. ¹⁷But that it spread no further among the people, let us strictly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. ¹⁸And having called them, they commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach, in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹But Peter and John answering said to them: Whether it is right in the sight of God to hearken to you rather than to God, judge ye. ²⁰For we can not but speak the things which we saw and heard.

²¹And they, having further threatened them, let them go, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified God for that which was done; ²²for the man was above forty years old, on whom this sign of the healing had been wrought.

²³And being dismissed, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders said to them. ²⁴And they, hearing it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said: Lord, thou art he who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things in them; ²⁵who by the mouth of thy servant David said:

Why did the heathen rage,

And the peoples imagine vain things?

²⁶The kings of the earth stood near,

And the rulers assembled together,

Against the Lord, and against his Christ.

²⁷For in truth there assembled in this city, against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel before determined to be done. ²⁹And now, Lord, behold their threatenings; and grant to thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, ³⁰by stretching forth thy hand for healing, and that signs and wonders may be wrought through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.

³¹And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

³²And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and of one soul; and not one said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common. ³³And with great power the apostles gave the testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴For there was no one among them that lacked; for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things sold, ³⁵and laid them at the feet of the apostles; and distribution was made to each one, according as he had need.

³⁶And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is interpreted, Son of consolation), a Levite, born in Cyprus, ³⁷having land sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, ²and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the feet of the apostles. ³But Peter said: Ananias, why did Satan fill thy heart, that thou shouldst lie to the Holy Spirit, and keep back part of the price of the land? ⁴While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why didst thou conceive this thing in thy heart? Thou didst not lie to men, but to God. ⁵And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and expired; and great fear came on all that heard these things. ⁶And the young men arose, wrapt him up, and carried him out⁶, and buried him.

⁷And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. ⁸And Peter answered her: Tell me, whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said: Yes, for so much. ⁹And Peter said to her: Why is it that ye agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. ¹⁰And immediately she fell at his feet, and expired; and coming in, the young men found her dead, and carried her forth, and buried her by her husband. ¹¹And great fear came upon all the church, and upon all that heard these things.

¹²And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. ¹³But of the rest no one dared to join himself to them; but the people honored them; ¹⁴(and still more were believers added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women); ¹⁵so that along the streets they brought forth the sick, and laid them on beds and pallets, that, as Peter was passing, the shadow at least might overshadow some one of them. ¹⁶And the multitude also of the cities around came together to Jerusalem, bringing sick persons, and those who were vexed by unclean spirits; and they were all healed.

¹⁷But the high priest rose up, and all that were with him, which is the sect of the Sadducees, and were filled with indignation, ¹⁸and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the public prison.

¹⁹But an angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors; and having brought them forth, he said: ²⁰Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. ²¹And hearing it, they went into the temple at early dawn, and taught.

And the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the eldership of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. ²²But the officers, when they came, found them not in the prison; and returning, they reported, ²³saying: The prison indeed we found shut with all security, and the keepers standing without before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one within.

²⁴And when the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they were at a loss concerning them, to what this might grow. ²⁵But one came and told them, saying: Behold, the men whom ye put in the prison are in the temple, standing and teaching the people. ²⁶Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them, not with violence (for they feared the people), that they might not be stoned. ²⁷And having brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸saying: Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.

²⁹And Peter answering, and the apostles, said: We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. ³¹Him, as a prince and a Savior, did God exalt to his right hand, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. ³²And we are his witnesses of these things, and the Holy Spirit also, which God gave to those who obey him.

³³And they, hearing it, were convulsed with rage, and took counsel to slay them. ³⁴But there stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, honored by all the people, and commanded to put the men forth a little while; ³⁵and said to them: Men of Israel, take heed to yourselves, what ye are about to do in respect to these men. ³⁶For before these days arose Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves; who was slain, and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered and brought to naught. ³⁷After this man arose Judas the Galilæan, in the days of the registering, and drew away much people after him; he also perished, and all, as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. ³⁸And now I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to naught; ³⁹but if it is of God ye can not overthrow them; lest haply ye be found also fighting against God.

⁴⁰And to him they assented; and having called the apostles, they scourged them, and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

⁴¹They therefore went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because for that name they were counted worthy to suffer shame. ⁴²And every day, in the temple, and from house to house, they ceased not to teach, and to publish the glad tidings of Jesus the Christ.

VI.

And in these days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. ²And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them, and said: It is not proper that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. ³Therefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this business. ⁴But we will give ourselves to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

⁵And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch, ⁶whom they set before the apostles; and having prayed, they laid their hands on them.

⁷And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

⁸And Stephen, full of grace and of power, did great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹And there arose certain ones of the synagogue so called of the Freedmen, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. ¹⁰And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke. ¹¹Then they suborned men, who said: We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

¹²And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes; and coming upon him, they seized him, and brought him to the council, ¹³and set up false witnesses, Who said: This man ceases not to speak words against this holy place, and the law. ¹⁴For we have heard him say, that this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us. ¹⁵And all that sat in the council, looking intently upon him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

VII.

And the high priest said: Are then these things so? ²And he said: Brethren, and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, ³and said to him: Go forth from thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. ⁴Then he went forth from the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Haran; and from thence, after his father was dead, he caused him to remove into this land, wherein ye now dwell. ⁵And he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot-breadth; and he promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when he had no child. ⁶And God spoke after this manner, that his seed shall be a sojourner in a strange land, and they will bring them into bondage, and afflict them four hundred years. ⁷And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage I will judge, said God; and after that they shall come forth, and shall serve me in this place. ⁸And he gave him the covenant of circumcision; and thus he begot Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day, and Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. ⁹And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt. And God was with him, ¹⁰and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹And there came a famine over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and a great affliction; and our fathers found no sustenance. ¹²But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, first sent out our fathers. ¹³And at the second time, Joseph was recognized by his brothers; and the race of Joseph was made known to Pharaoh. ¹⁴Then Joseph sent, and called for Jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. ¹⁵And Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he and our fathers, ¹⁶and were removed to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

¹⁷But as the time of the promise drew near, which God declared to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, ¹⁸until another king arose who knew not Joseph. ¹⁹He, dealing subtly with our race, afflicted our fathers, so that they should cast out their infants, that they might not be preserved alive. ²⁰In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, who was nourished three months in his father's house. ²¹And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for herself as a son.

²²And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. ²³And when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the sons of Israel. ²⁴And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged the one oppressed by smiting the Egyptian. ²⁵For he supposed his brethren would understand, that God by his hand would deliver them; but they understood not. ²⁶And on the following day he showed himself to them as they were contending, and urged them to peace, saying: Ye are brethren; why wrong ye one another? ²⁷But he who was wronging his neighbor thrust him away, saying: Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? ²⁸Wilt thou kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian yesterday? ²⁹And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons. ³⁰And when forty years were completed, there appeared to him in the wilderness of the mount Sinai an angel in a flame of fire, in a bush. ³¹And Moses, seeing it, wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saving: ³²I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses trembled, and durst not behold. ³³And the Lord said to him: Loose the sandals from thy feet; for the place where thou standest is holy ground. ³⁴Truly, I saw the affliction of my people in Egypt, and I heard their groaning, and came down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. ³⁵This Moses whom they denied, saying: Who made thee a ruler and a judge? him did God send as a ruler and a redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶He brought them out, working 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 children of Israel: A Prophet will God raise up to you of your brethren, like unto. ³⁸This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers; who received the living oracles to give to us; ³⁹to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, ⁴⁰saying to Aaron: Make us gods who shall go before us; for as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.

⁴¹And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. ⁴²And God turned away, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets:

Did ye offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices,

Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

⁴³And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,

And the star of the god Remphan,

The figures which ye made to worship them;

And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, as he who spoke to Moses commanded, that he should make it according to the pattern that he had seen; ⁴⁵which also our fathers received, and brought in with Joshua into the possession of the heathen, whom God drove out before our fathers, unto the days of David; ⁴⁶who found favor before God, and asked that he might find a habitation for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷But Solomon built a house for him. ⁴⁸Yet the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands; as says the prophet:

⁴⁹Heaven is my throne,

And the earth is my footstool.

What house will ye build for me, saith the Lord;

Or what is my place of rest?

⁵⁰Did not my hand make all these things?

⁵¹Stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears! Ye always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye. ⁵²Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they slew those who announced beforehand concerning the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have now become the betrayers and murderers; ⁵³who received the law as the ordinances of angels, and kept it not.

⁵⁴Hearing these things, they were enraged in their hearts, and gnashed their teeth against him. ⁵⁵But, being full of the Holy Spirit, he looked intently into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said: ⁵⁶Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. ⁵⁷And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; ⁵⁸and having cast him out of the city, they stoned him. And the witnesses laid off their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul, ⁵⁹and stoned Stephen, calling and saying: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. ⁶⁰And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And saying this, he fell asleep.