Acts 7:15

7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt and died there, ¹  along with our ancestors, ² 

Acts 22:1

Paul’s Defense

22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense ³  that I now ⁴  make to you.”

Acts 7:11

7:11 Then a famine occurred throughout ⁵  Egypt and Canaan, causing ⁶  great suffering, and our ⁷  ancestors ⁸  could not find food.

Acts 7:39

7:39 Our ⁹  ancestors ¹⁰  were unwilling to obey ¹¹  him, but pushed him aside ¹²  and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,

Acts 7:51

7:51 “You stubborn ¹³  people, with uncircumcised ¹⁴  hearts and ears! ¹⁵  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ¹⁶  did!

Acts 15:10

15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test ¹⁷  by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke ¹⁸  that neither our ancestors ¹⁹  nor we have been able to bear?

Acts 7:2

7:2 So he replied, ²⁰  “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather ²¹  Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran,

Acts 7:45

7:45 Our ²²  ancestors ²³  received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors, ²⁴  until the time ²⁵  of David.

Acts 7:52

7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors ²⁶  not persecute? ²⁷  They ²⁸  killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, ²⁹  whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! ³⁰ 

[7:15]  ¹ tn The word “there” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[7:15]  ² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[22:1]  ³ sn Listen to my defense. This is the first of several speeches Paul would make in his own defense: Acts 24:10ff.; 25:8, 16; and 26:1ff. For the use of such a speech (“apologia”) in Greek, see Josephus, Ag. Ap. 2.15 [2.147]; Wis 6:10.

[22:1]  ⁴ tn The adverb νυνί (nuni, “now”) is connected with the phrase τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς νυνὶ ἀπολογίας (th" pro" Juma" nuni apologia") rather than the verb ἀκούσατε (akousate), and the entire construction (prepositional phrase plus adverb) is in first attributive position and thus translated into English by a relative clause.

[7:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “came upon all Egypt.”

[7:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “and,” but logically causal.

[7:11]  ⁷ sn Our. Stephen spoke of “our” ancestors (Grk “fathers”) in an inclusive sense throughout the speech until his rebuke in v. 51, where the nation does what “your” ancestors did, at which point an exclusive pronoun is used. This serves to emphasize the rebuke.

[7:11]  ⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:39]  ⁷ tn Grk “whom our.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation at this point.

[7:39]  ⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:39]  ⁹ sn To obey. Again the theme of the speech is noted. The nation disobeyed the way of God and opted for Egypt over the promised land.

[7:39]  ¹⁰ sn Pushed him aside. This is the second time Moses is “pushed aside” in Stephen’s account (see v. 27).

[7:51]  ⁹ sn Traditionally, “stiff-necked people.” Now the critique begins in earnest.

[7:51]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Or “You stubborn and obstinate people!” (The phrase “uncircumcised hearts and ears” is another figure for stubbornness.)

[7:51]  ¹² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[15:10]  ¹¹ tn According to BDAG 793 s.v. πειράζω 2.c, “In Ac 15:10 the πειράζειν τὸν θεόν consists in the fact that after God’s will has been clearly made known through granting of the Spirit to the Gentiles (v. 8), some doubt and make trial to see whether God’s will really becomes operative.” All testing of God in Luke is negative: Luke 4:2; 11:16.

[15:10]  ¹² sn A yoke is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen or horses so that they can pull a wagon, plow, etc. together. Here it is used figuratively of the restriction that some in the early church wanted to place on Gentile converts to Christianity of observing the law of Moses and having males circumcised. The yoke is a decidedly negative image: Matt 23:4, but cf. Matt 11:29-30.

[15:10]  ¹³ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:2]  ¹³ tn Grk “said.”

[7:2]  ¹⁴ tn Or “ancestor”; Grk “father.”

[7:45]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And.” 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.

[7:45]  ¹⁶ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:45]  ¹⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:45]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “In those days.”

[7:52]  ¹⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:52]  ¹⁸ sn Which…persecute. The rhetorical question suggests they persecuted them all.

[7:52]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ sn The Righteous One is a reference to Jesus Christ.

[7:52]  ²¹ 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).