Caeltueih 7
1 Te dongah khosoihham loh, “Te tlam te om tang nim?” a ti nah.
Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are the things that [these people are saying about you(sg)] true?”
2 Te vaengah Setephen loh, “Ka manuca rhoek neh a pa rhoek, ka hlang rhoek loh hnatun uh lah. Kharrhan kah a om hlan ah Mesopotamia ah a om vaengah ni thangpomnah Pathen loh a pa Abraham taengah a phoe pah coeng.
Stephen replied, “Fellow Jews and respected leaders, [please] listen to me! The glorious God [whom we(inc) worship] appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still [living] in Mesopotamia [region], before he moved to Haran [town].
3 Te vaengah anih te, “Na khohmuen neh na cako taeng lamloh cet lamtah na paan ham khohmuen te tah nang kan tueng eh?,” a ti nah.
God said to him, ‘Leave this land where you [(sg)] and your relatives [are living], and go into the land to which I will lead you.’
4 Te dongah Khalden khohmuen lamloh nong tih Kharrhan ah kho a sak. Te lamloh a napa a duek phoeiah he khohmuen la amah puen uh tih te ah nangmih loh kho na sak uh coeng.
So Abraham left that land, [which was also called] Chaldea, and he arrived in Haran and lived there. After his father died, God told him to move to this land in which you [and I] are now living.”
5 Te ah te rho a paek pawt dongah khotloeng pataeng khueh pawh. Te vaengah anih te camoe om hlan dae anih neh anih hnukah a tiingan taengah khohmuen te khoyo la paek ham ol a caeng.
“[At that time] God did not give Abraham any [land here], not even a small plot of [this] land that would belong to him. God promised that he would [later] give this land to him and his descendants, and that it would [always] belong [to them. However], at that time Abraham did not have any children [who would] ([inherit it/receive it after he died]).”
6 Te dongah a tiingan loh hlanglang kho ah yinlai la a om ham khaw, amih te sal a bi sak uh vetih kum yali a phaep uh ham khaw Pathen loh a thui coeng.
“[Later] God told Abraham, ‘Your descendants will go and live in a foreign country. They [will live there] for 400 years, and [during that time their leaders] will mistreat your descendants and force them to work as slaves.’
7 Tedae Pathen loh, “Amih sal aka bi sak namtom te lai ka tloek ni. Te phoeiah cet uh vetih he hmuen ah kai m'bawk uh ni,” a ti.
But God [also] said, ‘I will punish the people who make them work as slaves. Then, after that, your descendants will leave [that land] and they will [come and] worship me in this land.’”
8 Te phoeiah anih te yahvinrhetnah ham paipi a paek. Te dongah ni Isaak a cun vaengah khaw a hnin rhet dongah a rhet pah. Te phoeiah Isaak loh Jakob, Jakob loh patuel hlainit te a rhet pah.
“Then God commanded Abraham that [every male in his household and all of his male descendants] should be circumcised [to show that they all belonged to God] and that they would obey what he had told Abraham to do. Later Abraham’s son, Isaac, was born, and when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. [Later] Isaac’s son, Jacob, was born, and Isaac [similarly circumcised] him. And Jacob [similarly circumcised] his twelve sons. They are the twelve men [from whom we(inc) Jews have all descended].”
9 Patuel rhoek tah Joseph taengah thatlai uh tih Egypt la a thuung uh. Tedae anih te Pathen loh a om puei.
“[You know that] Jacob’s [older] sons became jealous [because their father favored their younger brother] Joseph. So they sold him [to merchants/traders who took him] [MTY] to Egypt. There he became a slave [of an official who lived there]. But God [helped] Joseph.
10 Te dongah ni a phacip phabaem soeprhaep khui lamloh anih a hlawt tih Egypt manghai Pharaoh hmaiah anih te lungvatnah neh cueihnah a paek. Te phoeiah Egypt neh a imkhui pum aka kholcui ham a tuek.
He protected him whenever people caused him to suffer. He enabled Joseph to be wise; and he caused Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to think well of Joseph. So Pharaoh appointed him to rule [over] Egypt and to look after all of Pharaoh’s property [MTY].”
11 Tedae khokha neh phacip phabaem loh Egypt neh Kanaan pum te a pai thil khungdaeng vaengah, a pa rhoek tah cakthae khaw dang uh pawh.
“[While Joseph was doing that work], there was a time (when there was very little food/of famine) throughout Egypt and also throughout Canaan. People did not have enough food to eat. People were suffering. [At that time] Jacob and his sons [in Canaan] also could not find [enough] food.
12 Egypt ah cang a om te Jakob loh a yaak vaengah lamhma la a pa rhoek te a tueih.
When Jacob heard [people report that] there was grain/food [that people could buy] in Egypt, he sent Joseph’s older brothers [to go there to buy grain. They went and bought grain from Joseph, but they did not recognize him. Then they returned home].
13 Tedae a pabae daengah Joseph loh a manuca rhoek taengah a phoe pah tih, Joseph kah namtu khaw Pharaoh taengah mingpha la coeng.
When Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt the second time, [they again bought grain from Joseph]. But this time [he] told them who he was. [And] people told Pharaoh that Joseph’s people were Hebrews [and that those men who had come from Canaan were his brothers].
14 Te phoeiah Joseph loh a napa Jakob neh a cako hinglu sawmrhih panga te a tah tih boeih a khue.
Then after Joseph sent [his brothers back home, they] told their father Jacob [that Joseph wanted] him and his entire family to come [to Egypt. At that time] ([Jacob’s family consisted of] 75 people/there were 75 people in Jacob’s family) [SYN].
15 Jakob tah Egypt la suntla dae amah khaw a pa rhoek khaw duek.
[So when] Jacob [heard that, he and all his family] went to [live in] Egypt.” Acts 7:15b-16 “[Later on], Jacob died [there], and our [other] ancestors, [his sons, also died there].
16 Te dongah Shekhem la a khuen uh tih, Shekhem kah Harmor koca rhoek taengah tangka phu neh Abraham loh a lai phuel ah a up uh.
[But] the bodies [of Jacob and Joseph] were brought {[they] brought the bodies [of Jacob and Joseph]} [back to our land], and [Jacob’s body] was buried {they buried [Jacob’s body]} [in the tomb that Abraham had bought, and they buried Joseph’s body] in Shechem in the ground that [Jacob] had bought from Hamor’s sons.”
17 Pathen loh Abraham taengkah a phong tangtae olkhueh tue loh a yoei coeng bangla, pilnam loh Egypt ah rhoeng uh tih ping uh.
“Our ancestors had become very numerous when it was almost time for [God to rescue them] from Egypt, [as] he had promised Abraham that he would do.
18 Te vaengah Joseph aka ming mueh manghai pakhat te Egypt ah phoe.
Another king had begun to rule in Egypt. He did not know that Joseph, [long before that time, had greatly helped the people of Egypt] [MTY].
19 Anih loh mamih namtu he a hoilae tih a pa rhoek a phaep. Cahni rhoek te hing boel saeh tila a saii tih a voeih sak.
That king cruelly tried to get rid of our ancestors. He oppressed them and caused them to suffer greatly. He [even commanded] them to leave their baby [boys] outside [their homes] so that they would die.”
20 Te vaeng tue ah Moses thaang tih Pathen taengah khaw sakthen la om. Anih te a napa im ah hla thum a cun.
“During that time Moses was born, and he was a very beautiful [LIT] [child]. So his parents [secretly] cared for him in their house for three months.
21 Anih te a phap vaengah Pharaoh canu loh a rhuh tih a ca la a cun.
Then they had to put him outside [the house, but] Pharaoh’s daughter [found him and] adopted him and cared for him as [though he were] her own son.
22 Te dongah Moses tah Egypt kah cueihnah cungkuem neh a toel tih a olka neh bitat dongah a yoeikoek la om.
Moses was taught {[The Egyptian teachers] taught Moses} many kinds of wise things [HYP] that the people in Egypt knew, and [when he grew up], he spoke powerfully and did things powerfully.”
23 Tedae kum sawmli a cup vaengah, a manuca, Israel ca rhoek te hip hamla a thinko ah a cuen pah.
“[One day] when Moses was about 40 years old, he decided that he would [go and] see his fellow Israelis. [So he went to the place where they worked].
24 Te vaengah hlang pakhat a hnueih te a hmuh tih a rhun. Te dongah a vueinan te kutthungnah a saii pah tih Egypt te a boh.
He saw an Egyptian beating one of the Israelis. So he went over to help [MTY] the Israeli man who was being hurt/beat {whom [the Egyptian] was hurting/beating}, and he (got revenge on/paid back) the Israeli man by killing the Egyptian [who was hurting/beating him].
25 Pathen loh amih ham khangnah te anih kut dongah a paek te a manuca rhoek loh a hmuhming tila a poek dae a hmuhkming uh pawh.
Moses was thinking that his fellow Israelis would understand that God had sent him to free them [from being slaves]. But they did not understand that.
26 Tedae a vuen khohnin ah amamih a hnueih uh thae te a hmuh. Te dongah, “Ka hlang rhoek, manuca la na om uh ta, balae khat neh khat thae na saii uh,” a ti nah tih rhoepnah ham amih te a sim.
The next day, Moses saw two Israeli men fighting [each other]. He tried to make them stop fighting by saying to them, ‘Men, you two are fellow [Israelis! So] (stop hurting each other!/why are you hurting each other?) [RHQ]’
27 Tedae imben a hnueih loh a tueihno tih, “Kaimih soah boei neh laitloek la nang u long n'tuek.
But the man who was injuring the other man pushed Moses away and said to him, ‘(No one appointed you [(sg)] to rule and judge us [(exc)]!/Do you [(sg)] think someone appointed you [(sg)] to rule and judge us [(exc)]?) [RHQ]
28 Hlaem kah Egypt na ngawn vaengkah a longim bangla kai he ngawn ham na ngaih pawt nim?” a ti nah.
Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
29 Tekah ol dongah Moses khaw rhaelrham tih Midian kho ah yinlai la poeh. Te ah te capa panit a sak.
When Moses heard that, [he thought to himself, ‘Obviously, people know what I have done, and someone will kill me.’ He was afraid, so] he fled [from Egypt] to Midian land. He lived there [for some years]. He [got married, and he and his wife] had two sons.”
30 Kum sawmli a cup vaengah puencawn te Sinai tlang kah khosoek ah anih ham tangpuem hmai hmaitak khuiah a phoe pah.
“[One day] 40 years later, [the Lord God appeared as] an angel to Moses. He appeared in a bush that was burning in the desert near Sinai Mountain.
31 A mangthui te a hmuh vaengah Moses loh a ngaihmang. Te dongah hmat hamla a paan hatah,
When Moses saw that, he was greatly surprised, [because the bush was not burning up]. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord [God] say [to him],
32 Kai tah na pa rhoek kah Pathen, Abraham, Isaak, Jakob kah Pathen ni,” tila Boeipa ol thoeng. Te dongah Moses tah a thuen neh om tih a hmat ham ngaingaih pawh.
‘I [am] the God [whom] your ancestors [worshipped]. I [am] the God that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [worship].’ Moses [was so afraid that he] began to shake. He was afraid to look [at the bush any longer].
33 Tedae anih te Boeipa loh, “Na kho dongkah khokhom te duul laeh. Na pai nah hmuen he diklai cim ni.
Then the Lord [God] said to him, ‘Take your sandals off [to show that you(sg) revere me]. Because I [am here], the place where you are standing is holy/sacred.
34 Egypt ah ka pilnam kah thakkhoeihnah te ka sawt ka sawt tih a hueinah te ka yaak coeng. Amih hlawt ham ka rhum coeng dongah halo laeh Egypt la nang kan tueih pawn eh,” a ti nah.
I have surely seen how the people of Egypt are continually causing my people to suffer. I have heard my people when they groan [because those people continually oppress them]. So I have come down to rescue them [from Egypt]. Now get ready, because I am going to send you [back] to Egypt [to do that].’”
35 Moses te, 'Boei neh laitloek la nang u long n'tuek,’ a ti uh tih hnawt uh cakhaw, tangpuem khuiah anih taengla aka phoe puencawn kut dongah anih te boei neh tlankung la Pathen loh a tueih.
“This Moses [is the one who had tried to help our Israeli people, but] whom they rejected [by saying], ‘No one [RHQ] appointed you to rule and judge [us!’] Moses [is the one whom] God [himself] sent to rule them and to free them [from being slaves. He is the one whom] an angel in the bush [commanded to do that].
36 Anih loh amih te a mawt vaengah khobae rhambae neh miknoek te Egypt kho neh Tuipuei Sen ah khaw, khosoek kah kum sawmli khuiah khaw a saii.
Moses [is the one who] led our ancestors out [from Egypt]. He did many kinds of miracles in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and during the 40 years [that the Israelite people lived] in the desert.
37 Israel ca rhoek taengah, “Na ming manuca khui lamloh kai bang tonghma pakhat te Pathen loh nangmih ham a phoe sak ni, “aka ti khaw Moses amah ni.
This Moses is the one who said to the Israelite people, ‘God will appoint a prophet for you from among your own people. [He will speak words from God], just like I [speak his words to you].’
38 khosoek kah hlangboel taengah, Sinai tlang ah anih aka voek puencawn neh a pa rhoek taengah aka om khaw amah ni. Mamih taengah paek ham aka hing olrhuh khaw anih long ni a doe.
This man [Moses] was [our people’s leader] when they gathered together in the desert. It is Moses to whom [God sent] the angel on Sinai Mountain to [give him our laws], and [he was the one who told] our [other] ancestors [what the angel had said]. He was the one who received [from God] words that tell us how to live [eternally, and Moses] passed [them] on to us.”
39 A pa rhoek loh anih taengah olngai la om ham ngaih uh pawt tih a tueihno uh. Te dongah a thinko khuiah Egypt la mael uh.
“[However], our ancestors did not want to obey [Moses]. Instead, [while he was still on the mountain], they rejected him [as their leader] and decided that they wanted to return to Egypt.
40 Aaron te khaw, “Mamih ham pathen saii lamtah anih te mamih hmaiah lamhma saeh. Moses loh Egypt kho lamkah mamih m'mawt sut amah te metla a om khaw m'ming uh moenih,” a ti uh.
So they told [his older brother] Aaron, ‘Make idols for us who will be our gods to lead us [back to Egypt]! As for that fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt we [(exc)] do not know what has happened to him!’
41 Amah tekah khohnin vaengah vaito muei a hlawn uh tih mueirhol taengah hmueih a nawn uh. Tedae amamih kah kutsai nen ni a. hmae uh.
So, they made [out of gold] an image [that looked like] a calf. Then they sacrificed [animals and offered other things] to [honor] that idol, and they sang and danced to honor the idol that they themselves had made.
42 Te dongah Pathen loh a mael tak tih vaan caempuei bawk sak ham amih te a voeih. Tonghma rhoek kah cabu dongah a daek bangla, Israel imkhui loh khosoek kah kum sawmli te kai taengah saha neh hmueih nang khuen moenih.
So God rejected them. He abandoned them to worship the sun, moon and stars in the sky. This agrees with the words that one of the prophets wrote that God said, You Israelite [people] [MTY], when you [repeatedly] killed animals and offered them as sacrifices during those 40 years [that you were] in the desert, (you [most certainly] were not offering them to me!/what makes you think that you were offering them to me?) [RHQ]
43 Molokh kah dap neh na pathen Rhemphan aisi ni na puen uh. Amih te bawk ham a muei na saii uh. Te dongah nangmih te Babylon rhalvangan la kan thak ni.
[On the contrary], you carried [with you from place to place] the tent [that contained the idol] representing [the god] Molech [that you worshipped]. You also [carried with you] the image of the star [called] Rephan. [Those] were idols that you had made, [and you] worshipped [them instead of me]. So I will [cause you to] be taken away {[people to] take you} [from your own country. You will be taken] {[They will take you]} [far from your homes to regions] even farther than Babylon [Country].”
44 Laipai kah dap tah khosoek kah a pa rhoek taengah khaw om coeng. A uen bangla a mueimae a hmuh tarhing ah saii ham ni Moses taengah a thui.
“While our ancestors were in the desert, they worshipped God at the tent that showed [that he was there with them]. They had made the tent exactly like God had commanded Moses [to make it. It was] exactly like the model that Moses had seen [when he was up on the mountain].
45 Te te a khuen uh tih David tue duela a pa rhoek kah mikhmuh ah Pathen loh a khawkkhek namtom rhoek kah khoyo khuila a pa rhoek neh Joshua loh a pak.
[Later on], other ancestors of ours carried that tent with them when Joshua led them [into this land]. That was during the time that they took this land for themselves, when God forced the people [who previously lived here] to leave. So the Israelis were able to possess this land. [The tent remained in this land and was still here] when [King] David ruled.
46 David tah Pathen hmaiah lungvatnah a dang dongah Jakob imkhui te rhaehim hmuh sak ham a bih.
David pleased God, and he asked God to let him build a house where [he and] all of our Israeli people could worship God.
47 Te dongah ni a im khaw Solomon loh a sak.
But [instead, God let David’s son] Solomon build a house [where people could worship] God.”
48 Tedae tonghma loh a thui bangla Khohni tah kutsai dongah kho a sak moenih.
“However, [we(inc) know that] God is greater than everything, and he does not live in [houses that] people [SYN] have made. It is like the prophet [Isaiah] wrote. He wrote [these words that God had spoken: ]
49 Vaan ke ka ngolkhoel ni, diklai khaw ka kho ham khotloeng ni. Mebang im nim kai ham na sak uh, Boeipa loh, “melae ka duemnah hmuen,” a ti.
Heaven is (my throne/the place from which I rule the entire universe), and the earth is (my footstool/[merely like] a stool on which I may rest my feet). I myself [SYN] have made everything [both in heaven and on the earth]. So you [human beings], ([you] really cannot build a house that would be [adequate] for me!/do you think you can build a house that would be [appropriate] for me?) [RHQ] You cannot [RHQ] make a place good enough for me [to live in]!”
50 A cungkuem he ka kut loh a saii moenih a?
51 Na thinko neh na hna te a maltalh neh a dul la om. Nangmih loh Mueihla Cim te na tloelh ninoe tih nangmih khaw na pa rhoek bangla na omuh.
“You people are extremely stubborn [MET], not wanting to obey God or listen [MTY] [to him!] You are exactly like your ancestors! You always resist the Holy Spirit [as they did]!
52 Tonghma rhoek te na pa rhoek loh a hnaemtaek uh moenih a? Hlang dueng aka lo kawng aka thui rhoek te khaw a ngawn uh. Tahae ah nangmih khaw hlangyoi neh hlang aka ngawn la na om uh.
Your ancestors caused [RHQ] every prophet to suffer, [including Moses]. They even killed those who long ago announced [that the Messiah] would come, the one who always did what pleased God. [And the Messiah has come! He is the one whom] you [recently] turned over [to his enemies] and [insisted that] they kill him!
53 Anih loh puencawn kah hoihaengnah neh olkhueng a dang dae na tuem uh pawh,” a ti nah.
You [are the people] who have received God’s laws. [Those were laws] that God caused angels to give [to our ancestors]. However, [incredibly], you have not obeyed them!”
54 Te te a yaak uh vaengah a thinko ah paeng uh tih a no a rhueng uh.
When the Jewish Council members [and others there] heard all that [Stephen said], they became very angry. They were grinding their teeth [together because they were so angry] at him!
55 Tedae Mueihla Cim neh a bae la a om dongah vaan la a hmaitang vaenghah Pathen kah thangpomnah neh Pathen bantang ah aka pai Jesuh te a hmuh.
But the Holy Spirit completely controlled Stephen. He looked up into heaven and saw a dazzling light from God, and [he saw] Jesus standing at God’s right side.
56 Te dongah, “Vaan ke ong uh tih hlang capa loh Pathen bantang ah a pai te ka hmuh ke,” a ti.
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open, and I [see] the one who came from heaven standing at God’s right side!”
57 Te vaengah ol ue la pang uh tih a hna te a buem uh. Te phoeiah anih soah huek cu uh.
[When the Jewish Council members and others heard that], they shouted loudly. They put their hands over their ears [so that they could not hear Stephen, and immediately] they all rushed at him.
58 Te phoeiah khopuei kah a voel la a sol uh tih a dae uh. Laipai rhoek long khaw a himbai te Saul la a khue cadong kah kho ah a pit uh.
They dragged him outside the city [of Jerusalem] and started to throw stones at him. The people who were accusing him [took off] their outer garments [in order to throw stones more easily, and] they put their clothes [on the ground] next to a young man whose name was Saul, [so that he could guard them].
59 A dae uh vaengah Stephen loh Pathen a khue tih, “Boeipa Jesuh, ka mueihla he doe lah,” a ti.
While they continued to throw stones at Stephen, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
60 Te phoeiah khuklu cungkueng tih ol ue la pang. Boeipa, tholhnah he amih taengah pai sak boeh,” a ti tih mawt ip.
Then Stephen fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not punish them (OR, forgive them) [LIT] for this sin!” After he had said that, he died.
