Actuum Apostolorum 7
1 Dixit autem princeps sacerdotum: Si hæc ita se habent?
Then the high priest asked, ‘Is this true?’
2 Qui ait: Viri fratres et patres, audite: Deus gloriæ apparuit patri nostro Abrahæ cum esset in Mesopotamia, priusquam moraretur in Charan,
Stephen replied, ‘Brothers and fathers, hear what I have to say. God, who manifests himself in the glory, appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, and before he settled in Haran, and said to him –
3 et dixit ad illum: Exi de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et veni in terram quam monstravero tibi.
“Leave your country and your people, and come into the country that I will show you.”
4 Tunc exiit de terra Chaldæorum, et habitavit in Charan. Et inde, postquam mortuus est pater ejus, transtulit illum in terram istam, in qua nunc vos habitatis.
And so Abraham left the country of the Chaldaeans and settled in Haran; and from there, after his father’s death, God caused him to migrate into this country, in which you are now living.
5 Et non dedit illi hæreditatem in ea, nec passum pedis: sed repromisit dare illi eam in possessionem, et semini ejus post ipsum, cum non haberet filium.
God did not at that time give him any part of it, not even a foot of ground. But he promised to give him possession of it and his descendants after him, though at that time he had no child.
6 Locutus est autem ei Deus: Quia erit semen ejus accola in terra aliena, et servituti eos subjicient, et male tractabunt eos annis quadringentis:
God’s words were these – “Abraham’s descendants will live in a foreign country, where they will be enslaved and ill-treated for four hundred years.
7 et gentem cui servierint, judicabo ego, dixit Dominus: et post hæc exibunt, et servient mihi in loco isto.
But I myself will judge the nation, to which they will be enslaved,” God said, “and after that they will leave the country and worship me in this place.”
8 Et dedit illi testamentum circumcisionis: et sic genuit Isaac, et circumcidit eum die octavo: et Isaac, Jacob: et Jacob, duodecim patriarchas.
Then God made with Abraham the covenant of circumcision; and under it Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him when he was eight days old; and Isaac became the father of Jacob; and Jacob of the Twelve Patriarchs.
9 Et patriarchæ æmulantes, Joseph vendiderunt in Ægyptum: et erat Deus cum eo,
The Patriarchs, out of jealousy, sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt; but God was with him,
10 et eripuit eum ex omnibus tribulationibus ejus, et dedit ei gratiam et sapientiam in conspectu pharaonis regis Ægypti: et constituit eum præpositum super Ægyptum, et super omnem domum suam.
and delivered him out of all his troubles, and enabled him to win favour and show wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who appointed him Governor of Egypt and of his whole household.
11 Venit autem fames in universam Ægyptum et Chanaan, et tribulatio magna: et non inveniebant cibos patres nostri.
Then a famine spread over the whole of Egypt and Canaan, causing great distress, and our ancestors could find no food.
12 Cum audisset autem Jacob esse frumentum in Ægypto, misit patres nostros primum:
Hearing, however, that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob sent our ancestors there on their first visit.
13 et in secundo cognitus est Joseph a fratribus suis, et manifestatum est Pharaoni genus ejus.
In the course of their second visit, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh.
14 Mittens autem Joseph, accersivit Jacob patrem suum et omnem cognationem suam, in animabus septuaginta quinque.
Then Joseph sent an urgent invitation to his father Jacob and to his relatives, seventy-five persons in all;
15 Et descendit Jacob in Ægyptum: et defunctus est ipse, et patres nostri.
and so Jacob went down into Egypt. There he died, and our ancestors also,
16 Et translati sunt in Sichem, et positi sunt in sepulchro, quod emit Abraham pretio argenti a filiis Hemor filii Sichem.
and their bodies were removed to Shechem, and laid in the tomb which Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
17 Cum autem appropinquaret tempus promissionis quam confessus erat Deus Abrahæ, crevit populus, et multiplicatus est in Ægypto,
As the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise which God had made to Abraham, the people increased largely in numbers in Egypt,
18 quoadusque surrexit alius rex in Ægypto, qui non sciebat Joseph.
until a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to the throne.
19 Hic circumveniens genus nostrum, afflixit patres nostros ut exponerent infantes suos, ne vivificarentur.
This king acted deceitfully towards our people and ill-treated our ancestors, making them abandon their own infants, so that they should not be reared.
20 Eodem tempore natus est Moyses, et fuit gratus Deo: qui nutritus est tribus mensibus in domo patris sui.
It was just at this time that Moses was born. He was an exceedingly beautiful child, and for three months was brought up in his own father’s house;
21 Exposito autem illo, sustulit eum filia Pharaonis, et nutrivit eum sibi in filium.
and, when he was abandoned, the daughter of Pharaoh found him and brought him up as her own son.
22 Et eruditus est Moyses omni sapientia Ægyptiorum, et erat potens in verbis et in operibus suis.
So Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and proved his ability both by his words and actions.
23 Cum autem impleretur ei quadraginta annorum tempus, ascendit in cor ejus ut visitaret fratres suos filios Israël.
When he was in his fortieth year, he resolved to visit his fellow Israelites;
24 Et cum vidisset quemdam injuriam patientem, vindicavit illum, et fecit ultionem ei qui injuriam sustinebat, percusso Ægyptio.
and, seeing an Israelite ill-treated, he defended him, and avenged the man, who was being wronged, by striking down the Egyptian.
25 Existimabat autem intelligere fratres, quoniam Deus per manum ipsius daret salutem illis: at illi non intellexerunt.
He thought his own people would understand that God was using him to save them; but they failed to do so.
26 Sequenti vero die apparuit illis litigantibus: et reconciliabat eos in pace, dicens: Viri, fratres estis: ut quid nocetis alterutrum?
The next day he again appeared on the scene, when some of them were fighting, and tried to make peace between them. “Men,” he said, “you are brothers; how is it that you are ill-treating one another?”
27 Qui autem injuriam faciebat proximo, repulit eum, dicens: Quis te constituit principem et judicem super nos?
But the man who was ill-treating his fellow workman pushed Moses aside saying – “Who made you a ruler and judge over us?
28 Numquid interficere me tu vis, quemadmodum interfecisti heri Ægyptium?
Do you mean to make away with me as you did yesterday with that Egyptian?”
29 Fugit autem Moyses in verbo isto: et factus est advena in terra Madian, ubi generavit filios duos.
At these words Moses took to flight, and became an exile in Midian; and there he had two sons born to him.
30 Et expletis annis quadraginta, apparuit illi in deserto montis Sina angelus in igne flammæ rubi.
Forty years had passed when there appeared to him, in the desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.
31 Moyses autem videns, admiratus est visum. Et accedente illo ut consideraret, facta est ad eum vox Domini, dicens:
When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the vision; but on his going nearer to look at it more closely, the voice of the Lord was heard to say –
32 Ego sum Deus patrum tuorum, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac, et Deus Jacob. Tremefactus autem Moyses, non audebat considerare.
“I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses trembled, and did not dare to look.
33 Dixit autem illi Dominus: Solve calceamentum pedum tuorum: locus enim in quo stas, terra sancta est.
Then the Lord said to him – “Take your sandals off your feet, for the spot where you are standing is holy ground.
34 Videns vidi afflictionem populi mei qui est in Ægypto, et gemitum eorum audivi, et descendi liberare eos. Et nunc veni, et mittam te in Ægyptum.
I have seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them. Come now and I will send you into Egypt.”
35 Hunc Moysen, quem negaverunt, dicentes: Quis te constituit principem et judicem? hunc Deus principem et redemptorem misit, cum manu angeli qui apparuit illi in rubo.
This same Moses, whom they had disowned with the words – “Who made you a ruler and a judge?” was the man whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer, under the guidance of the angel that had appeared to him in the bush.
36 Hic eduxit illos faciens prodigia et signa in terra Ægypti, et in rubro mari, et in deserto annis quadraginta.
He it was who led them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the desert during forty years.
37 Hic est Moyses, qui dixit filiis Israël: Prophetam suscitabit vobis Deus de fratribus vestris, tamquam me: ipsum audietis.
This was the Moses who said to the people of Israel – “God will raise up for you, from among yourselves, a prophet, as he raised up me.”
38 Hic est qui fuit in ecclesia in solitudine cum angelo, qui loquebatur ei in monte Sina, et cum patribus nostris: qui accepit verba vitæ dare nobis.
He, too, it was who was present at the assembly in the desert, with the angel who talked to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and who received living truths to impart to you.
39 Cui noluerunt obedire patres nostri: sed repulerunt, et aversi sunt cordibus suis in Ægyptum,
Yet our ancestors refused him obedience; more than that, they rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt,
40 dicentes ad Aaron: Fac nobis deos qui præcedant nos: Moyses enim hic, qui eduxit nos de terra Ægypti, nescimus quid factum sit ei.
while they said to Aaron – “Make us Gods who will lead the way for us, since, as for this Moses who has brought us out of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
41 Et vitulum fecerunt in diebus illis, et obtulerunt hostiam simulacro, et lætabantur in operibus manuum suarum.
That was the time when they made the calf and offered sacrifice to their idol, and held festivities in honour of their own handiwork!
42 Convertit autem Deus, et tradidit eos servire militiæ cæli, sicut scriptum est in libro prophetarum: [Numquid victimas et hostias obtulistis mihi annis quadraginta in deserto, domus Israël?
So God turned from them and left them to the worship of the Starry Host, as is written in the book of the prophets – “Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me, house of Israel, all those forty years in the desert?
43 Et suscepistis tabernaculum Moloch, et sidus dei vestri Rempham, figuras quas fecistis adorare eas: et transferam vos trans Babylonem.]
You took with you the tent where Moloch is worshipped and the star of the god Rephan – the images which you had made to worship. Therefore I will exile you beyond Babylon.”
44 Tabernaculum testimonii fuit cum patribus nostris in deserto, sicut disposuit illis Deus loquens ad Moysen, ut faceret illud secundum formam quam viderat.
Our ancestors had the tent where they worshipped God in the desert, constructed, just as he who spoke to Moses had directed him to make it, after the model which he had seen.
45 Quod et induxerunt, suscipientes patres nostri cum Jesu in possessionem gentium quas expulit Deus a facie patrum nostrorum, usque in diebus David,
This tent, which was handed down to them, was brought into this country by our ancestors who accompanied Joshua (at the conquest of the nations that God drove out before their advance), and remained here until the time of David.
46 qui invenit gratiam ante Deum, et petiit ut inveniret tabernaculum Deo Jacob.
David found favour with God, and prayed that he might provide the God of Jacob with a place to reside.
47 Salomon autem ædificavit illi domum.
But it was Solomon who built a house for God.
48 Sed non Excelsus in manufactis habitat, sicut propheta dicit:
Yet it is not in buildings made by hands that the Most High dwells. As the prophet says –
49 [Cælum mihi sedes est: terra autem scabellum pedum meorum. Quam domum ædificabitis mihi? dicit Dominus: aut quis locus requietionis meæ est?
“The heavens are a throne for me, and the earth a stool for my feet. What manner of house will you build me, asks the Lord, or what place is there where I may rest?
50 Nonne manus mea fecit hæc omnia?]
Was it not my hand that made all these things?”
51 Dura cervice, et incircumcisis cordibus et auribus, vos semper Spiritui Sancto resistitis: sicut patres vestri, ita et vos.
Stubborn people, heathen in heart and ears, you are for ever resisting the Holy Spirit; your ancestors did it, and you are doing it still.
52 Quem prophetarum non sunt persecuti patres vestri? et occiderunt eos qui prænuntiabant de adventu Justi, cujus vos nunc proditores et homicidæ fuistis:
Which of the prophets escaped persecution at their hands? They killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one; of whom you, in your turn, have now become the betrayers and murderers –
53 qui accepistis legem in dispositione angelorum, et non custodistis.
you who received the Law as transmitted by angels and yet failed to keep it.’
54 Audientes autem hæc, dissecabantur cordibus suis, et stridebant dentibus in eum.
As they listened to this, the Council grew frantic with rage, and gnashed their teeth at Stephen.
55 Cum autem esset plenus Spiritu Sancto, intendens in cælum, vidit gloriam Dei, et Jesum stantem a dextris Dei.
He, filled as he was with the Holy Spirit, fixed his eyes intently on the heavens, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right hand.
56 Et ait: Ecce video cælos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris Dei.
‘Look,’ he exclaimed, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand!’
57 Exclamantes autem voce magna continuerunt aures suas, et impetum fecerunt unanimiter in eum.
At this, with a loud shout, they stopped their ears and all rushed on him, forced him outside the city,
58 Et ejicientes eum extra civitatem, lapidabant: et testes deposuerunt vestimenta sua secus pedes adolescentis qui vocabatur Saulus.
and began to stone him, the witnesses laying their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 Et lapidabant Stephanum invocantem, et dicentem: Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum.
And they stoned Stephen, while he cried to the Lord, ‘Lord Jesus! Receive my spirit!’
60 Positis autem genibus, clamavit voce magna, dicens: Domine, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Et cum hoc dixisset, obdormivit in Domino.
Falling on his knees, he called out loudly, ‘Lord! Do not charge them with this sin;’ and with these words he fell asleep.
