Actuum Apostolorum 7
1 Dixit autem princeps sacerdotum: Si hæc ita se habent?
Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
2 Qui ait: Viri fratres, et patres audite: Deus gloriæ apparuit patri nostro Abrahæ cum esset in Mesopotamia, prius quam moraretur in Charan.
And Stephen declared: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,
3 et dixit ad illum: Exi de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et veni in terram, quam monstravero tibi.
and told him, ‘Leave your country and your kindred and go to the land I will show you.’
4 Tunc exiit de terra Chaldæorum, et habitavit in Charan. Et inde, postquam mortuus est pater eius, transtulit illum in terram istam, in qua nunc vos habitatis.
So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place and into this land where you are now living.
5 Et non dedit illi hereditatem in ea, nec passum pedis: sed repromisit dare illi eam in possessionem, et semini eius post ipsum, cum non haberet filium.
He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.
6 Locutus est autem ei Deus: Quia erit semen eius accola in terra aliena, et servituti eos subiicient, et male tractabunt eos annis quadringentis:
God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
7 et gentem cui servierint, iudicabo ego, dixit Dominus. et post hæc exibunt, et servient mihi in loco isto.
‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.’
8 Et dedit illi testamentum circumcisionis: et sic genuit Isaac, et circumcidit eum die octavo: et Isaac, Iacob: et Iacob, duodecim Patriarchas.
Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9 Et Patriarchæ æmulantes, Ioseph vendiderunt in Ægyptum. et erat Deus cum eo:
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
10 et eripuit eum ex omnibus tribulationibus eius: et dedit ei gratiam, et sapientiam in conspectu Pharaonis regis Ægypti, et constituit eum præpositum super Ægyptum, et super omnem domum suam.
and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.
11 Venit autem fames in universam Ægyptum, et Chanaan, et tribulatio magna: et non inveniebant cibos patres nostri.
Then famine and great suffering swept across Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers could not find food.
12 Cum audisset autem Iacob esse frumentum in Ægypto: misit patres nostros primum:
When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit.
13 et in secundo cognitus est Ioseph a fratribus suis, et manifestatum est Pharaoni genus eius.
On their second visit, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and his family became known to Pharaoh.
14 Mittens autem Ioseph accersivit Iacob patrem suum, et omnem cognationem suam in animabus septuagintaquinque.
Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob and all his relatives, seventy-five in all.
15 Et descendit Iacob in Ægyptum, et defunctus est ipse, et patres nostri.
So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.
16 Et translati sunt in Sichem, et positi sunt in sepulchro, quod emit Abraham pretio argenti a filiis Hemor filii Sichem.
Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.
17 Cum autem appropinquaret tempus promissionis, quam confessus erat Deus Abrahæ, crevit populus, et multiplicatus est in Ægypto,
As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, our people in Egypt increased greatly in number.
18 quoadusque surrexit alius rex in Ægypto, qui non sciebat Ioseph.
Then another king, who knew nothing of Joseph, arose over Egypt.
19 Hic circumveniens genus nostrum, afflixit patres nostros ut exponerent infantes suos ne vivificarentur.
He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
20 Eodem tempore natus est Moyses et fuit gratus Deo, qui nutritus est tribus mensibus in domo patris sui.
At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.
21 Exposito autem illo, sustulit eum filia Pharaonis, et nutrivit eum sibi in filium.
When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took 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 wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23 Cum autem impleretur ei quadraginta annorum tempus, ascendit in cor eius ut visitaret fratres suos filios Israel.
When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
24 Et cum vidisset quendam iniuriam patientem, vindicavit illum: et fecit ultionem ei, qui iniuriam sustinebat, percusso Ægyptio.
And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.
25 Existimabat autem intelligere fratres, quoniam Deus per manum ipsius daret salutem illis: at illi non intellexerunt.
He assumed his brothers would understand that God was using him to deliver them, but they did not.
26 Sequenti vero die apparuit illis litigantibus: et reconciliabat eos in pace, dicens: Viri, fratres estis, ut quid nocetis alterutrum?
The next day he came upon two Israelites who were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why are you mistreating each other?’
27 Qui autem iniuriam faciebat proximo, repulit eum, dicens: Quis te constituit principem, et iudicem super nos?
But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
28 numquid interficere me tu vis, quemadmodum interfecisti heri Ægyptium?
Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
29 Fugit autem Moyses in verbo isto: et factus est advena in terra Madian, ubi generavit filios duos.
At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.
30 Et expletis annis quadraginta, apparuit illi in deserto montis Sina Angelus in igne flammæ rubi.
After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
31 Moyses autem videns, admiratus est visum. et accedente illo ut consideraret, facta est ad eum vox Domini, dicens:
When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:
32 Ego sum Deus patrum tuorum, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac, et Deus Iacob. Tremefactus autem Moyses, non audebat considerare.
‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear 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 off your sandals, for the place 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 indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
35 Hunc Moysen, quem negaverunt, dicentes: Quis te constituit principem et iudicem? hunc Deus principem et redemptorem misit, cum manu Angeli, qui apparuit illi in rubo.
This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who 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 led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
37 Hic est Moyses, qui dixit filiis Israel: Prophetam suscitabit vobis Deus de fratribus vestris, tamquam me, ipsum audietis.
This is the same Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’
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 was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. And he received living words to pass on to us.
39 Cui noluerunt obedire patres nostri: sed repulerunt, et aversi sunt cordibus suis in Ægyptum,
But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, 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.
They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’
41 Et vitulum fecerunt in diebus illis, et obtulerunt hostiam simulachro, et lætabantur in operibus manuum suarum.
At that time they made a calf and offered a sacrifice to the idol, rejoicing in the works of their hands.
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 Israel?
But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 Et suscepistis tabernaculum Moloch, et sidus Dei vestri Rempham, figuras, quas fecistis, adorare eas. Et transferam vos trans Babylonem.
You have taken along the tabernacle of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’
44 Tabernaculum testimonii fui cum patribus nostris in deserto, sicut disposuit illis Deus, loquens ad Moysen, ut faceret illud secundum formam, quam viderat.
Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
45 Quod et induxerunt, suscipientes patres nostri cum Iesu in possessionem Gentium, quas expulit Deus a facie patrum nostrorum, usque in diebus David,
And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,
46 qui invenit gratiam ante Deum, et petiit ut inveniret tabernaculum Deo Iacob.
who found favor in the sight of God and asked to provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47 Salomon autem ædificavit illi domum.
But it was Solomon who built the house for Him.
48 Sed non excelsus in manufactis habitat, sicut Propheta dicit:
However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. 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?
‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or where will My place of repose be?
50 Nonne manus mea fecit hæc omnia?
Has not My hand made all these things?’
51 Dura cervice, et incircumcisis cordibus, et auribus, vos semper Spiritui sancto resistitis, sicut Patres vestri, ita et vos.
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
52 Quem Prophetarum non sunt persecuti patres vestri? Et occiderunt eos, qui prænunciabant de adventu Iusti, cuius vos nunc proditores, et homicidæ fuistis:
Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
53 qui accepistis legem in dispositione Angelorum, et non custodistis.
you who received the law ordained by angels, yet have not kept it.”
54 Audientes autem hæc dissecabantur cordibus suis, et stridebant dentibus in eum.
On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
55 Cum autem esset plenus Spiritu sancto, intendens in cælum, vidit gloriam Dei, et Iesum stantem a dextris Dei.
But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 Et ait: Ecce video cælos apertos, et filium hominis stantem a dextris Dei.
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 Exclamantes autem voce magna continuerunt aures suas, et impetum fecerunt unanimiter in eum.
At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.
58 Et eiicientes eum extra civitatem lapidabant: et testes deposuerunt vestimenta sua secus pedes adolescentis, qui vocabatur Saulus.
They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 Et lapidabant Stephanum invocantem, et dicentem: Domine Iesu suscipe spiritum meum.
While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “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 cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
