Acts 7:29-34

7:29 When the man said this, ¹  Moses fled and became a foreigner ²  in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

7:30 “After ³  forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert ⁴  of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. ⁵  7:31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 7:32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers, ⁶  the God of Abraham, Isaac, ⁷  and Jacob.’ ⁸  Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely. ⁹  7:33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ¹⁰  7:34 I have certainly seen the suffering ¹¹  of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. ¹²  Now ¹³  come, I will send you to Egypt.’ ¹⁴ 

[7:29]  ¹ tn Grk “At this word,” which could be translated either “when the man said this” or “when Moses heard this.” Since λόγος (logos) refers to the remark made by the Israelite, this translation has followed the first option.

[7:29]  ² tn Or “resident alien.” Traditionally πάροικος (paroiko") has been translated “stranger” or “alien,” but the level of specificity employed with “foreigner” or “resident alien” is now necessary in contemporary English because a “stranger” is a person not acquainted with someone, while an “alien” can suggest science fiction imagery.

[7:30]  ³ tn Grk “And after.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and contemporary English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[7:30]  ⁴ tn Or “wilderness.”

[7:30]  ⁵ sn An allusion to Exod 3:2.

[7:32]  ⁶ tn Or “ancestors”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:32]  ⁷ tn Grk “and Isaac,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[7:32]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6. The phrase suggests the God of promise, the God of the nation.

[7:32]  ⁹ tn Or “to investigate,” “to contemplate” (BDAG 522 s.v. κατανοέω 2).

[7:33]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 3:5. The phrase holy ground points to the fact that God is not limited to a particular locale. The place where he is active in revealing himself is a holy place.

[7:34]  ¹¹ tn Or “mistreatment.”

[7:34]  ¹² tn Or “to set them free.”

[7:34]  ¹³ tn Grk “And now.” 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.

[7:34]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 3:7-8, 10.