Acts 7

¹And the prynce of prestis seide to Steuene, Whethir these thingis han hem so?

²Which seide, Britheren and fadris, here ye. God of glorie apperide to oure fadir Abraham, whanne he was in Mesopotamie, bifor that he dwelte in Carram, and seide to hym,

³Go out of thi loond, and of thi kynrede, and come in to the loond, which Y schal schewe to thee.

⁴Thanne he wente out of the loond of Caldeis, and dwelte in Carram. And fro thens aftir that his fader was deed, he translatide him in to this loond, in which ye dwellen now.

⁵And he yaf not to hym eritage in it, nethir a paas of a foot, but he bihiyte to yyue hym it in to possessioun, and to his seed aftir hym, whanne he hadde not a sone.

⁶And God spak to hym, That his seed schal be comling in an alien lond, and thei schulen make hem suget to seruage, and schulen yuel trete hem, foure hundrid yeris and thritti;

⁷and Y schal iuge the folk, to which thei schulen serue, seith the Lord. And after these thingis thei schulen go out, and thei schulen serue to me in this place.

⁸And he yaf to hym the testament of circumcisioun; and so he gendride Ysaac, and circumcidide hym in the eiyt dai. And Isaac gendride Jacob, and Jacob gendride the twelue patriarkis.

⁹And the patriarkis hadden enuye to Joseph, and selden hym in to Egipt.

¹⁰And God was with hym, and delyuerede hym of alle hise tribulaciouns, and yaf to hym grace and wisdom in the siyt of Farao, king of Egipt. And he ordeynede hym souereyn on Egipt, and on al his hous.

¹¹And hungur cam in to al Egipt, and Canaan, and greet tribulacioun; and oure fadris founden not mete.

¹²But whanne Jacob hadde herd, that whete was in Egipt, he sente oure fadris first.

¹³And in the secounde tyme Joseph was knowun of hise britheren, and his kyn was maad knowun to Farao.

¹⁴And Joseph sente, and clepide Jacob, his fadir, and al his kynrede, seuenti and fyue men.

¹⁵And Jacob cam doun in to Egipt, and was deed, he and oure fadris;

¹⁶and thei weren translatid in to Sichen, and weren leid in the sepulcre, that Abraham bouyte bi prijs of siluer of the sones of Emor, the sone of Sichen.

¹⁷And whanne the tyme of biheeste cam niy, which God hadde knoulechid to Abraham, the puple waxede, and multipliede in Egipt,

¹⁸til another kyng roos in Egipt, which knewe not Joseph.

¹⁹This bigilide oure kyn, and turmentide oure fadris, that thei schulden putte awey her yonge children, for thei schulden not lyue.

²⁰In the same tyme Moyses was borun, and he was louyd of God; and he was norischid thre monethis in the hous of his fadir.

²¹And whanne he was put out in the flood, the douyter of Farao took hym vp, and nurischide hym in to hir sone.

²²And Moises was lerned in al the wisdom of Egipcians, and he was myyti in his wordis and werkis.

²³But whanne the tyme of fourti yeer was fillid to hym, it roos vp `in to his herte, that he schulde visite hise britheren, the sones of Israel.

²⁴And whanne he say a man suffringe wronge, he vengide hym, and dide veniaunce for hym that suffride the wronge, and he killide the Egipcian.

²⁵For he gesside that his britheren schulden vndurstonde, that God schulde yyue to hem helthe bi the hoond of hym; but thei vndurstoden not.

²⁶For in the dai suynge he apperide to hem chidinge, and he acordide hem in pees, and seide, Men, ye ben britheren; whi noyen ye ech othere?

²⁷But he that dide the wronge to his neiybore, puttide hym awey, and seide, Who ordeynede thee prince and domesman on vs?

²⁸Whethir thou wolt sle me, as yistirdai thou killidist the Egipcian?

²⁹And in this word Moises flei, and was maad a comeling in the loond of Madian, where he bigat twei sones.

³⁰And whanne he hadde fillid fourti yeer, an aungel apperide to hym in fier of flawme of a buysch, in desert of the mount of Syna.

³¹And Moises siy, and wondride on the siyt. And whanne he neiyede to biholde, the vois of the Lord was maad to hym,

³²and seide, Y am God of youre fadris, God of Abraham, God of Ysaac, God of Jacob. Moises was maad tremblynge, and durste not biholde.

³³But God seide to hym, Do of the schoon of thi feet, for the place in which thou stondist is hooli erthe.

³⁴Y seynge say the turmentyng of my puple that is in Egipt, and Y herde the mornyng of hem, and Y cam doun to delyuere hem. And now come thou, and Y schal sende thee in to Egipt.

³⁵This Moises whom thei denyeden, seiynge, Who ordeynede thee prince and domesman on vs? God sente this prince and ayenbiere, with the hoond of the aungel, that apperide to hym in the busch.

³⁶This Moises ledde hem out, and dide wondris and signes in the loond of Egipt, and in the reed see, and in desert fourti yeeris.

³⁷This is Moises, that seide to the sones of Israel, God schal reise to you a profete of youre bretheren, as me ye schulen here him.

³⁸This it is, that was in the chirche in wildirnesse, with the aungel that spak to hym in the mount of Syna, and with oure fadris; which took words of lijf to yyue to vs.

³⁹To whom oure fadris wolden not obeie, but puttiden hym awei, and weren turned awei in hertis in to Egipt,

⁴⁰seiynge to Aaron, Make thou to vs goddis, that schulen go bifore vs; for to this Moyses that ledde vs out of the lond of Egipt, we witen not what is don to hym.

⁴¹And thei maden a calf in tho daies, and offriden a sacrifice to the mawmet; and thei weren glad in the werkis of her hondis.

⁴²And God turnede, and bitook hem to serue to the knyythod of heuene, as it is writun in the book of profetis, Whether ye, hous of Israel, offriden to me slayn sacrificis, ether sacrificis, fourti yeris in desert?

⁴³And ye han take the tabernacle of Moloc, and the sterre of youre god Renfam, figuris that ye han maad to worschipe hem; and Y schal translate you in to Babiloyn.

⁴⁴The tabernacle of witnessing was with oure fadris in desert, as God disposide to hem, and spak to Moyses, that he schulde make it aftir the fourme that he say.

⁴⁵Which also oure fadris token with Jhesu, and brouyten in to the possessioun of hethene men, whiche God puttide awey fro the face of oure fadris, til in to the daies of Dauid,

⁴⁶that fonde grace anentis God, and axide that he schulde fynde a tabernacle to God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But Salomon bildide the hous `to hym.

⁴⁸But the hiy God dwellith not in thingis maad bi hoond,

⁴⁹as he seith bi the profete, Heuene is a seete to me, and the erthe is the stool of my feet; what hous schulen ye bilde to me, seith the Lord, ether what place is of my restyng?

⁵⁰Whether myn hoond made not alle these thingis?

⁵¹With hard nol, and vncircumcidid hertis and eris ye withstoden eueremore the Hooli Goost; and as youre fadris, so ye.

⁵²Whom of the profetis han not youre fadris pursued, and han slayn hem that bifor telden of the comyng of the riytful man, whos traitouris and mansleeris ye weren now?

⁵³Whiche token the lawe in ordynaunce of aungels, and han not kept it.

⁵⁴And thei herden these thingis, and weren dyuersli turmentid in her hertis, and grenneden with teeth on hym.

⁵⁵But whanne Steuene was ful of the Hooli Goost, he bihelde in to heuene, and say the glorie of God, and Jhesu stondinge on the riythalf of the vertu of God. And he seide, Lo! Y se heuenes openyd, and mannus sone stondynge on the riythalf of the vertu of God.

⁵⁶And thei crieden with a greet vois, and stoppiden her eris, and maden with o wille an assauyt in to hym.

⁵⁷And thei brouyten hym out of the citee, and stonyden. And the witnessis diden of her clothis, bisidis the feet of a yong man, that was clepid Saule.

⁵⁸And thei stonyden Steuene, that clepide God to help, seiynge, Lord Jhesu, resseyue my spirit.

⁵⁹And he knelide, and criede with a greet vois, and seide, Lord, sette not to hem this synne. And whanne he hadde seid this thing, he diede.

Acts 7

¹Then said the high priest, Are these things so?

²And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,

³And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

⁴Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.

⁵And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

⁶And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.

⁷And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

⁸And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.

⁹And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,

¹⁰And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

¹¹Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.

¹²But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

¹³And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.

¹⁴Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.

¹⁵So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,

¹⁶And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

¹⁷But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

¹⁸Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

¹⁹The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live.

²⁰In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father’s house three months:

²¹And when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

²²And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.

²³And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

²⁴And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:

²⁵For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.

²⁶And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?

²⁷But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

²⁸Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?

²⁹Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

³⁰And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.

³¹When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,

³²Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

³³Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.

³⁴I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt.

³⁵This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.

³⁶He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

³⁷This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.

³⁸This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:

³⁹To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

⁴⁰Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

⁴¹And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

⁴²Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

⁴³Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

⁴⁴Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that he should make it according to the fashion that he had seen.

⁴⁵Which also our fathers that came after brought in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;

⁴⁶Who found favour before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

⁴⁷But Solomon built him an house.

⁴⁸Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

⁴⁹Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?

⁵⁰Hath not my hand made all these things?

⁵¹Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

⁵³Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

⁵⁴When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

⁵⁶And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

⁵⁷Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

⁵⁸And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.