Stephen's Speech
1 And the high priest said, "Are these things so?"
2
And Stephen said:
1"Brothers and fathers, hear me.
2The God
3of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia,
4before he lived in Haran,
3
and said to him,
5'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.'
4
6Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And
7after his father died,
8God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.
5
Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised
9to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him,
10though he had no child.
6
And God spoke to this effect--that
11his offspring would
12be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them
13four hundred years.
7
'But
14I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out
15and worship me in this place.'
8
And
16he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And
17so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and
18circumcised him on the eighth day, and
19Isaac became the father of Jacob, and
20Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
9
"And the patriarchs,
21jealous of Joseph,
22sold him into Egypt; but
23God was with him
10
and rescued him out of all his afflictions and
24gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
25who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.