Acts of the Apostles 7

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 The high priest asked, 'Is this true?'	1 Then the high priest said: Are these things so?
2 He replied, 'My brothers, my fathers, listen to what I have to say. The God of glory appeared to ourancestor Abraham, while he was in Mesopotamia before settling in Haran,	2 Who said: Ye men, brethren, and fathers, hear. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charan.
3 and said to him, "Leave your country, your kindred and your father's house for this country which I shalshow you."	3 And said to him: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
4 So he left Chaldaea and settled in Haran; and after his father died God made him leave that place andcome to this land where you are living today.	4 Then he went out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charan. And from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein you now dwell.
5 God did not give him any property in this land or even a foothold, yet he promised to give it to him andafter him to his descendants, childless though he was.	5 And he gave him no inheritance in it; no, not the pace of a foot: but he promised to give it him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
6 The actual words God used when he spoke to him are that his descendants would be exiles in a landnot their own, where they would be enslaved and oppressed for four hundred years.	6 And God said to him: That his seed should sojourn in a strange country, and that they should bring them under bondage, and treat them evil four hundred years.
7 "But I wil bring judgement on the nation that enslaves them," God said, "and after this they wil leave, and worship me in this place."	7 And the nation which they shall serve will I judge, said the Lord; and after these things they shall go out, and shall serve me in this place.
8 Then he made the covenant of circumcision with him: and so when his son Isaac was born Abrahamcircumcised him on the eighth day; similarly Isaac circumcised Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.	8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he begot Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.
9 'The patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and sold him into slavery in Egypt. But God was with him,	9 And the patriarchs, through envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; and God was with him,
10 and rescued him from al his miseries by making him so wise that he won the favour of Pharaoh king ofEgypt, who made him governor of Egypt and put him in charge of his household.	10 And delivered him out of all his tribulations: and he gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharao, the king of Egypt; and he appointed him governor over Egypt, and over all his house.
11 Then a famine set in that caused much suffering throughout Egypt and Canaan, and our ancestorscould find nothing to eat.	11 Now there came a famine upon all Egypt and Chanaan, and great tribulation; and our fathers found no food.
12 When Jacob heard that there were supplies in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there on a first visit;	12 But when Jacob had heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent our fathers first:
13 and on the second Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Pharaoh came to know his origin.	13 And at the second time, Joseph was known by his brethren, and his kindred was made known to Pharao.
14 Joseph then sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, a total of seventy-five people.	14 And Joseph sending, called thither Jacob, his father, and all his kindred, seventy-five souls.
15 Jacob went down into Egypt and after he and our ancestors had died there,	15 So Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, and our fathers.
16 their bodies were brought back to Shechem and buried in the tomb that Abraham had bought formoney from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.	16 And they were translated into Sichem, and were laid in the sepulchre, that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Hemor, the son of Sichem.
17 'As the time drew near for God to fulfil the promise he had solemnly made to Abraham, our nation inEgypt became very powerful and numerous,	17 And when the time of the promise drew near, which God had promised to Abraham, the people increased, and were multiplied in Egypt,
18 there came to power in Egypt a new king who had never heard of Joseph.	18 Till another king arose in Egypt, who knew not Joseph.
19 He took precautions and wore down our race, forcing our ancestors to expose their babies rather thanletting them live.	19 This same dealing craftily with our race, afflicted our fathers, that they should expose their children, to the end they might not be kept alive.
20 It was at this time that Moses was born, a fine child before God. He was looked after for three monthsin his father's house,	20 At the same time was Moses born, and he was acceptable to God: who was nourished three months in his father's house.
21 and after he had been exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up like a son.	21 And when he was exposed, Pharao's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
22 So Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a man with power both in hisspeech and in his actions.	22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and in his deeds.
23 'At the age of forty he decided to visit his kinsmen, the Israelites.	23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
24 When he saw one of them being il -treated he went to his defence and rescued the man by kil ing theEgyptian.	24 And when he had seen one of them suffer wrong, he defended him; and striking the Egyptian, he avenged him who suffered the injury.
25 He thought his brothers would realise that through him God would liberate them, but they did not.	25 And he thought that his brethren understood that God by his hand would save them; but they understood it not.
26 The next day, when he came across some of them fighting, he tried to reconcile them, and said,"Friends, you are brothers; why are you hurting each other?"	26 And the day following, he shewed himself to them when they were at strife; and would have reconciled them in peace, saying: Men, ye are brethren; why hurt you one another?
27 But the man who was attacking his kinsman pushed him aside, saying, "And who appointed you to beprince over us and judge?	27 But he that did the injury to his neighbour thrust him away, saying: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge over us?
28 Do you intend to kill me as you kil ed the Egyptian yesterday?"	28 What, wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the Egyptian?
29 Moses fled when he heard this and he went to dwel in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons.	29 And Moses fled upon this word, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begot two sons.
30 'When forty years were fulfil ed, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in a flameblazing from a bush that was on fire.	30 And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the desert of mount Sina, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.
31 Moses was amazed by what he saw. As he went nearer to look at it, the voice of the Lord was heard,	31 And Moses seeing it, wondered at the sight. And as he drew near to view it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:
32 "I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Moses trembled and wasafraid to look.	32 I am the God of thy fathers; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses being terrified, durst not behold.
33 The Lord said to him, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.	33 And the Lord said to him: Loose the shoes from thy feet, for the place wherein thou standest, is holy ground.
34 I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, I have heard them crying for help, and I have comedown to rescue them. So come here; I am sending you into Egypt."	34 Seeing I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, and I will send thee into Egypt.
35 'It was the same Moses that they had disowned when they said, "Who appointed you to be our leader and judge?" whom God sent to be both leader and redeemer through the angel who had appeared to him in thebush.	35 This Moses, whom they refused, saying: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge? him God sent to be prince and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
36 It was this man who led them out, after performing miracles and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea andin the desert for forty years.	36 He brought them out, doing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the desert forty years.
37 It was this Moses who told the sons of Israel, "From among your own brothers God wil raise up aprophet like me."	37 This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel: A prophet shall God raise up to you of your own brethren, as myself: him shall you hear.
38 When they held the assembly in the desert it was he who was with our ancestors and the angel whohad spoken to him on Mount Sinai; it was he who was entrusted with words of life to hand on to us.	38 This is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on mount Sina, and with our fathers; who received the words of life to give unto us.
39 This is the man that our ancestors refused to listen to; they pushed him aside, went back to Egypt intheir thoughts,	39 Whom our fathers would not obey; but thrust him away, and in their hearts turned back into Egypt,
40 and said to Aaron, "Make us a god to go at our head; for that Moses, the man who brought us herefrom Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."	40 Saying to Aaron: Make us gods to go before us. For as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.
41 It was then that they made the statue of a calf and offered sacrifice to the idol. They were perfectlyhappy with something they had made for themselves.	41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
42 God turned away from them and abandoned them to the worship of the army of heaven, as scripturesays in the book of the prophets: Did you bring me sacrifices and oblations those forty years in the desert, Houseof Israel?	42 And God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the books of the prophets: Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me for forty years, in the desert, O house of Israel?
43 No, you carried the tent of Moloch on your shoulders and the star of the god Rephan, the idols youmade for yourselves to adore, and so now I am about to drive you into captivity beyond Babylon.	43 And you took unto you the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rempham, figures which you made to adore them. And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
44 'While they were in the desert our ancestors possessed the Tent of Testimony that had beenconstructed according to the instructions God gave Moses, tel ing him to work to the design he had been shown.	44 The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the desert, as God ordained for them, speaking to Moses, that he should make it according to the form which he had seen.
45 It was handed down from one ancestor of ours to another until Joshua brought it into the country thathad belonged to the nations which were driven out by God before us. Here it stayed until the time of David.	45 Which also our fathers receiving, brought in with Jesus, into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David.
46 He won God's favour and asked permission to find a dwel ing for the House of Jacob,	46 Who found grace before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.
47 though it was Solomon who actual y built a house for God.	47 But Solomon built him a house.
48 Even so the Most High does not live in a house that human hands have built: for as the prophet says:	48 Yet the most High dwelleth not in houses made by hands, as the prophet saith:
49 With heaven my throne and earth my footstool, what house could you build me, says the Lord, whatplace for me to rest,	49 Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. What house will you build me? saith the Lord; or what is the place of my resting?
50 when al these things were made by me?	50 Hath not my hand made all these things?
51 'You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit,just as your ancestors used to do.	51 You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you also.
52 Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted? They kil ed those who foretold thecoming of the Upright One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers.	52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them who foretold of the coming of the Just One; of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers:
53 In spite of being given the Law through angels, you have not kept it.'	53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
54 They were infuriated when they heard this, and ground their teeth at him.	54 Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth at him.
55 But Stephen, fil ed with the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesusstanding at God's right hand.	55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
56 'Look! I can see heaven thrown open,' he said, 'and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.'	56 And they crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and with one accord ran violently upon him.
57 Al the members of the council shouted out and stopped their ears with their hands; then they made aconcerted rush at him,	57 And casting him forth without the city, they stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul.
58 thrust him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a youngman cal ed Saul.	58 And they stoned Stephen, invoking, and saying: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
59 As they were stoning him, Stephen said in invocation, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'	59 And falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord. And Saul was consenting to his death.
60 Then he knelt down and said aloud, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' And with these words hefel asleep.