Actuum Apostolorum 7
1 Dixit autem princeps sacerdotum: Si hæc ita se habent?
The high priest said, “Are these things true?”
2 Qui ait: Viri fratres et patres, audite: Deus gloriæ apparuit patri nostro Abrahæ cum esset in Mesopotamia, priusquam moraretur in Charan,
Stephen said, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was 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.
he said to him, 'Leave your land and your relatives, and go into the land 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.
Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran; from there, after his father died, God brought him into this land, where you live now.
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.
He gave none of it as an inheritance to him, no, not even enough to set a foot on. But he promised—even though Abraham had no child yet—that he would give the land as a possession to him and to his descendants after him.
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 was speaking to him like this, that his descendants would live for a while in a foreign land, and that the inhabitants there would bring them into slavery and treat them badly 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 will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they will come out 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 gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, so Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of the twelve patriarchs.
9 Et patriarchæ æmulantes, Joseph vendiderunt in Ægyptum: et erat Deus cum eo,
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him into 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 rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who had made him governor over Egypt and over all his household.
11 Venit autem fames in universam Ægyptum et Chanaan, et tribulatio magna: et non inveniebant cibos patres nostri.
Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great suffering, and our fathers could find no food.
12 Cum audisset autem Jacob esse frumentum in Ægypto, misit patres nostros primum:
But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first trip.
13 et in secundo cognitus est Joseph a fratribus suis, et manifestatum est Pharaoni genus ejus.
On their second trip Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.
14 Mittens autem Joseph, accersivit Jacob patrem suum et omnem cognationem suam, in animabus septuaginta quinque.
Joseph sent his brothers back to tell Jacob his father to come to Egypt, along with all his relatives, seventy-five persons in all.
15 Et descendit Jacob in Ægyptum: et defunctus est ipse, et patres nostri.
So Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers.
16 Et translati sunt in Sichem, et positi sunt in sepulchro, quod emit Abraham pretio argenti a filiis Hemor filii Sichem.
They were carried over to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a price in silver 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 of the promise approached, the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
18 quoadusque surrexit alius rex in Ægypto, qui non sciebat Joseph.
until there arose another king over Egypt, a king who did not know about Joseph.
19 Hic circumveniens genus nostrum, afflixit patres nostros ut exponerent infantes suos, ne vivificarentur.
He deceived our people and forced our fathers to expose their newborn infants so they would not be kept alive.
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; he was very beautiful before God and was nourished for three months in his father's house.
21 Exposito autem illo, sustulit eum filia Pharaonis, et nutrivit eum sibi in filium.
When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son.
22 Et eruditus est Moyses omni sapientia Ægyptiorum, et erat potens in verbis et in operibus suis.
Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and works.
23 Cum autem impleretur ei quadraginta annorum tempus, ascendit in cor ejus ut visitaret fratres suos filios Israël.
But when he was about forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
24 Et cum vidisset quemdam injuriam patientem, vindicavit illum, et fecit ultionem ei qui injuriam sustinebat, percusso Ægyptio.
Seeing an Israelite being mistreated, Moses defended him and avenged him who was oppressed by striking the Egyptian:
25 Existimabat autem intelligere fratres, quoniam Deus per manum ipsius daret salutem illis: at illi non intellexerunt.
he thought that his brothers would understand that God by his hand was rescuing them, but they did not understand.
26 Sequenti vero die apparuit illis litigantibus: et reconciliabat eos in pace, dicens: Viri, fratres estis: ut quid nocetis alterutrum?
On the next day he came to some Israelites as they were quarreling; he tried to put them at peace with each other; he said, 'Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?'
27 Qui autem injuriam faciebat proximo, repulit eum, dicens: Quis te constituit principem et judicem super nos?
But the one who had wronged his neighbor pushed him away, and said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
28 Numquid interficere me tu vis, quemadmodum interfecisti heri Ægyptium?
Would you like 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.
Moses ran away after hearing this; he became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
30 Et expletis annis quadraginta, apparuit illi in deserto montis Sina angelus in igne flammæ rubi.
When forty years were past, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, 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 the fire, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look at it, there came a voice of the Lord, saying,
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 fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of 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.
The Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, 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 certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; now come, I will send you to 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 Moses whom they rejected, when they said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'—he was the one whom God sent as both a ruler and deliverer. God sent him by the hand of the angel who appeared to Moses in the bush.
36 Hic eduxit illos faciens prodigia et signa in terra Ægypti, et in rubro mari, et in deserto annis quadraginta.
Moses led them out of Egypt, after doing miracles and signs in Egypt and at the Sea of Reeds, and in the wilderness during forty years.
37 Hic est Moyses, qui dixit filiis Israël: Prophetam suscitabit vobis Deus de fratribus vestris, tamquam me: ipsum audietis.
It is the same Moses who said to the people of Israel, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, a prophet like 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.
This is the man who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel who had spoken to him on Mount Sinai. This is the man who was with our fathers; this is the man who received living words to give to us.
39 Cui noluerunt obedire patres nostri: sed repulerunt, et aversi sunt cordibus suis in Ægyptum,
This is the man whom our fathers refused to obey; they pushed him away from themselves, and in their hearts they 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.
At that time they said to Aaron, 'Make us gods who will lead 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 simulacro, et lætabantur in operibus manuum suarum.
So they made a calf in those days and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced because of the work 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 Israël?
But God turned and gave them up to worship the stars in the sky, as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'Did you offer to me slain beasts and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel?
43 Et suscepistis tabernaculum Moloch, et sidus dei vestri Rempham, figuras quas fecistis adorare eas: et transferam vos trans Babylonem.
You accepted the tabernacle of Molech and the star of the god Rephan, and the images that you made to worship them: and I will carry you away 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 fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as God commanded when he spoke to Moses, that he should make it like the pattern that 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,
Later, our fathers, under Joshua, received the tabernacle and brought it with them when they took possession of the land. God took the land from the nations and drove them out before the face of our fathers. The tabernacle remained in the land until the time of David,
46 qui invenit gratiam ante Deum, et petiit ut inveniret tabernaculum Deo Jacob.
who found favor in the sight of God, and he asked if he might find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47 Salomon autem ædificavit illi domum.
But it was Solomon who built the house for God.
48 Sed non Excelsus in manufactis habitat, sicut propheta dicit:
However, the Most High does not live in houses made with 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 the footstool for my feet. What kind of house can you build for me? says the Lord, or what is the place for my rest?
50 Nonne manus mea fecit hæc omnia?
Did my hand not make all these things?'
51 Dura cervice, et incircumcisis cordibus et auribus, vos semper Spiritui Sancto resistitis: sicut patres vestri, ita et vos.
You people who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; you act just as your fathers acted.
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 did your fathers not persecute? They killed the prophets who appeared in advance of the coming of the Righteous One; and you have now become the betrayers and murderers of him also,
53 qui accepistis legem in dispositione angelorum, et non custodistis.
you people who received the law that angels had established, but you did not keep it.”
54 Audientes autem hæc, dissecabantur cordibus suis, et stridebant dentibus in eum.
Now when the council members heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they ground their teeth at Stephen.
55 Cum autem esset plenus Spiritu Sancto, intendens in cælum, vidit gloriam Dei, et Jesum stantem a dextris Dei.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up intently into heaven and saw the glory of God; and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 Et ait: Ecce video cælos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris Dei.
Stephen said, “Look, I see the heavens opened, 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 the council members covered their ears, and shouting out with a loud voice, altogether they rushed at him.
58 Et ejicientes eum extra civitatem, lapidabant: et testes deposuerunt vestimenta sua secus pedes adolescentis qui vocabatur Saulus.
They dragged him out of the city where they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid down their outer clothing at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 Et lapidabant Stephanum invocantem, et dicentem: Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum.
As they were stoning Stephen, he was calling out to the Lord and saying, “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.
He knelt down and called out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
