Acts 7:9

7:9 The ¹  patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold ²  him into Egypt. But ³  God was with him,

Acts 7:27

7:27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed ⁴  Moses ⁵  aside, saying, ‘Who made ⁶  you a ruler and judge over us?

Acts 7:35

7:35 This same ⁷  Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ ⁸  God sent as both ruler and deliverer ⁹  through the hand of the angel ¹⁰  who appeared to him in the bush.

Acts 7:39

7:39 Our ¹¹  ancestors ¹²  were unwilling to obey ¹³  him, but pushed him aside ¹⁴  and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,

Matthew 23:31-33

23:31 By saying this you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 23:32 Fill up then the measure of your ancestors! 23:33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ¹⁵ 

[7:9]  ¹ tn Grk “And the.” 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.

[7:9]  ² tn The meaning “sell” for the middle voice of ἀποδίδωμι (apodidwmi) is given by BDAG 110 s.v. 5.a. See Gen 37:12-36, esp. v. 28.

[7:9]  ³ tn Though the Greek term here is καί (kai), in context this remark is clearly contrastive: Despite the malicious act, God was present and protected Joseph.

[7:27]  ⁴ tn Or “repudiated Moses,” “rejected Moses” (BDAG 126-27 s.v. ἀπωθέω 2).

[7:27]  ⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:27]  ⁶ tn Or “appointed.”

[7:35]  ⁷ sn This same. The reference to “this one” occurs five times in this speech. It is the way the other speeches in Acts refer to Jesus (e.g., Acts 2:23).

[7:35]  ⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 2:14 (see Acts 7:27). God saw Moses very differently than the people of the nation did. The reference to a ruler and a judge suggests that Stephen set up a comparison between Moses and Jesus, but he never finished his speech to make the point. The reader of Acts, however, knowing the other sermons in the book, recognizes that the rejection of Jesus is the counterpoint.

[7:35]  ⁹ tn Or “liberator.” The meaning “liberator” for λυτρωτήν (lutrwthn) is given in L&N 37.129: “a person who liberates or releases others.”

[7:35]  ¹⁰ tn Or simply “through the angel.” Here the “hand” could be understood as a figure for the person or the power of the angel himself. The remark about the angel appearing fits the first century Jewish view that God appears to no one (John 1:14-18; Gal 3:19; Deut 33:2 LXX).

[7:39]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

[7:39]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ sn Pushed him aside. This is the second time Moses is “pushed aside” in Stephen’s account (see v. 27).

[23:33]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the judgment of Gehenna.”