Acts 7:51-52

7:51 “You stubborn ¹  people, with uncircumcised ²  hearts and ears! ³  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁴  did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ⁵  not persecute? ⁶  They ⁷  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ⁸  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ⁹ 

Acts 7:1

Stephen’s Defense Before the Council

7:1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things true?” ¹⁰ 

Acts 2:15-16

2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, ¹¹  for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹²  2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: ¹³ 

[7:51]  ¹ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ² tn The term ἀπερίτμητοι (aperitmhtoi, “uncircumcised”) is a NT hapax legomenon (occurs only once). See BDAG 101-2 s.v. ἀπερίτμητος and Isa 52:1.

[7:51]  ³ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ⁴ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁵ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ⁶ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ⁷ tn Grk “And they.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:52]  ⁸ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ⁹ sn Whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. The harsh critique has OT precedent (1 Kgs 19:10-14; Neh 9:26; 2 Chr 36:16).

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “If it is so concerning these things” (see BDAG 422 s.v. ἔχω 10.a for this use).

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “These men are not drunk, as you suppose.”

[2:15]  ¹² tn Grk “only the third hour.”

[2:16]  ¹³ sn Note how in the quotation that follows all genders, ages, and classes are included. The event is like a hope Moses expressed in Num 11:29.