Stephen's Speech
1 The high priest asked Stephen, “Are they telling the truth about you?”
2 Stephen answered:
Friends, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he had moved to Haran. 3 God told him, “Leave your country and your relatives and go to a land that I will show you.” 4 Then Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran.
After his father died, Abraham came and settled in this land where you now live. 5 God didn't give him any part of it, not even a square meter. But God did promise to give it to him and his family forever, even though Abraham didn't have any children. 6 God said Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be mistreated 400 years. 7 But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”
8 God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons. 9 These men were our ancestors.
Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoh thought highly of him. The king even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.
11 Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat. 12 But when Jacob heard there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time. 13 It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and the king learned about Joseph's family.
14 Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were 75 of them. 15 His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did. 16 Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.
17 Finally, the time came for God to do what he had promised Abraham. By then the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Another king was ruling Egypt, and he didn't know anything about Joseph. 19 He tricked our ancestors and was cruel to them. He even made them leave their babies outside, so they would die.
20 During this time Moses was born. He was a very beautiful child, and for three months his parents took care of him in their home. 21 Then when they were forced to leave him outside, the king's daughter found him and raised him as her own son. 22 Moses was given the best education in Egypt. He was a strong man and a powerful speaker.
23 When Moses was 40 years old, he wanted to help the Israelites because they were his own people. 24 One day he saw an Egyptian mistreating one of them. So he rescued the man and killed the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought the rest of his people would realize God was going to use him to set them free. But they didn't understand.
26 The next day Moses saw two of his own people fighting, and he tried to make them stop. He said, “Men, you are both Israelites. Why are you so cruel to each other?”
27 But the man who had started the fight pushed Moses aside and asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge? 28 Are you going to kill me, just as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?” 29 When Moses heard this, he ran away to live in the country of Midian. His two sons were born there.
30 Forty years later, an angel appeared to Moses from a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 Moses was surprised by what he saw. He went closer to get a better look, and the Lord said, 32 “I am the God who was worshiped by your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Moses started shaking all over and didn't dare to look at the bush.
33 The Lord said to him, “Take off your sandals, because the place where you are standing is holy. 34 With my own eyes I have seen the suffering of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now I am sending you back to Egypt.”
35 This was the same Moses that the people rejected by saying, “Who made you our leader and judge?” God's angel had spoken to Moses from the bush. And God had even sent the angel to help Moses rescue the people and be their leader.
36 In Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the desert, Moses rescued the people by working miracles and wonders for 40 years. 37 Moses is the one who told the people of Israel, “God will choose one of your people to be a prophet, just as he chose me.” 38 Moses brought our people together in the desert, and the angel spoke to him on Mount Sinai. There he was given these life-giving words to pass on to us. 39 But our ancestors refused to obey Moses. They rejected him and wanted to go back to Egypt.
40 The people said to Aaron, “Make some gods to lead us! Moses led us out of Egypt, but we don't know what's happened to him now.” 41 Then they made an idol in the shape of a calf. They offered sacrifices to the idol and were pleased with what they had done.
42 God turned his back on his people and left them. Then they worshiped the stars in the sky, just as it says in the Book of the Prophets, “People of Israel, you didn't offer sacrifices and offerings to me during those 40 years in the desert. 43 Instead, you carried the tent where the god Molech is worshiped, and you took along the star of your god Rephan. You made those idols and worshiped them. So now I will have you carried off beyond Babylonia.”
44 The tent where our ancestors worshiped God was with them in the desert. This was the same tent that God had commanded Moses to make. And it was made like the model that Moses had seen. 45 Later it was given to our ancestors, and they took it with them when they went with Joshua. They carried the tent along as they took over the land from those people that God had chased out for them. Our ancestors used this tent until the time of King David. 46 He pleased God and asked him if he could build a house of worship for the people of Israel. 47 And it was finally King Solomon who built a house for God.
48 But the Most High God doesn't live in houses made by humans. It is just as the prophet said, when he spoke for the Lord,
49 “Heaven is my throne,
and the earth
is my footstool.
What kind of house
will you build for me?
In what place will I rest?
50 I have made everything.”
51 You stubborn and hardheaded people! You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors did. 52 Is there one prophet that your ancestors didn't mistreat? They killed the prophets who told about the coming of the One Who Obeys God. And now you have turned against him and killed him. 53 Angels gave you God's Law, but you still don't obey it.
Stephen Is Stoned to Death
54 When the council members heard Stephen's speech, they were angry and furious. 55 But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked toward heaven, where he saw our glorious God and Jesus standing at his right side. 56 Then Stephen said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!”
57 The council members shouted and covered their ears. At once they all attacked Stephen 58 and dragged him out of the city. Then they started throwing stones at him. The men who had brought charges against him put their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 As Stephen was being stoned to death, he called out, “Lord Jesus, please welcome me!” 60 He knelt down and shouted, “Lord, don't blame them for what they have done.” Then he died.
V. 1-19: cf. Ac 6:9-15. Ps 105:7-25.
1 Le souverain sacrificateur dit: Les choses sont-elles ainsi? 2 Étienne répondit: Hommes frères et pères, écoutez! Le Dieu de gloire apparut à notre père Abraham, lorsqu’il était en Mésopotamie, avant qu’il s’établît à Charran; et il lui dit: 3 Quitte ton pays et ta famille, et va dans le pays que je te montrerai. 4 Il sortit alors du pays des Chaldéens, et s’établit à Charran. De là, après la mort de son père, Dieu le fit passer dans ce pays que vous habitez maintenant; 5 il ne lui donna aucune propriété en ce pays, pas même de quoi poser le pied, mais il promit de lui en donner la possession, et à sa postérité après lui, quoiqu’il n’eût point d’enfant. 6 Dieu parla ainsi: Sa postérité séjournera dans un pays étranger; on la réduira en servitude et on la maltraitera pendant quatre cents ans. 7 Mais la nation à laquelle ils auront été asservis, c’est moi qui la jugerai, dit Dieu. Après cela, ils sortiront, et ils me serviront dans ce lieu-ci. 8 Puis Dieu donna à Abraham l’alliance de la circoncision; et ainsi, Abraham, ayant engendré Isaac, le circoncit le huitième jour; Isaac engendra et circoncit Jacob, et Jacob les douze patriarches. 9 Les patriarches, jaloux de Joseph, le vendirent pour être emmené en Égypte. 10 Mais Dieu fut avec lui, et le délivra de toutes ses tribulations; il lui donna de la sagesse et lui fit trouver grâce devant Pharaon, roi d’Égypte, qui l’établit gouverneur d’Égypte et de toute sa maison. 11 Il survint une famine dans tout le pays d’Égypte, et dans celui de Canaan. La détresse était grande, et nos pères ne trouvaient pas de quoi se nourrir. 12 Jacob apprit qu’il y avait du blé en Égypte, et il y envoya nos pères une première fois. 13 Et la seconde fois, Joseph fut reconnu par ses frères, et Pharaon sut de quelle famille il était. 14 Puis Joseph envoya chercher son père Jacob, et toute sa famille, composée de soixante-quinze personnes. 15 Jacob descendit en Égypte, où il mourut, ainsi que nos pères; 16 et ils furent transportés à Sichem, et déposés dans le sépulcre qu’Abraham avait acheté, à prix d’argent, des fils d’Hémor, père de Sichem. 17 Le temps approchait où devait s’accomplir la promesse que Dieu avait faite à Abraham, et le peuple s’accrut et se multiplia en Égypte, 18 jusqu’à ce que parut un autre roi, qui n’avait pas connu Joseph. 19 Ce roi, usant d’artifice contre notre race, maltraita nos pères, au point de leur faire exposer leurs enfants, pour qu’ils ne vécussent pas.
V. 20-50: cf. (Hé 11:23-29. Ps 105:26-45; 106.) (Lu 16:29. Jn 5:45-47.) 1 R 8:12-27.20 A cette époque, naquit Moïse, qui était beau aux yeux de Dieu. Il fut nourri trois mois dans la maison de son père; 21 et, quand il eut été exposé, la fille de Pharaon le recueillit, et l’éleva comme son fils. 22 Moïse fut instruit dans toute la sagesse des Égyptiens, et il était puissant en paroles et en œuvres. 23 Il avait quarante ans, lorsqu’il lui vint dans le cœur de visiter ses frères, les fils d’Israël. 24 Il en vit un qu’on outrageait, et, prenant sa défense, il vengea celui qui était maltraité, et frappa l’Égyptien. 25 Il pensait que ses frères comprendraient que Dieu leur accordait la délivrance par sa main; mais ils ne comprirent pas. 26 Le jour suivant, il parut au milieu d’eux comme ils se battaient, et il les exhorta à la paix: Hommes, dit-il, vous êtes frères; pourquoi vous maltraitez-vous l’un l’autre? 27 Mais celui qui maltraitait son prochain le repoussa, en disant: Qui t’a établi chef et juge sur nous? 28 Veux-tu me tuer, comme tu as tué hier l’Égyptien? 29 A cette parole, Moïse prit la fuite, et il alla séjourner dans le pays de Madian, où il engendra deux fils. 30 Quarante ans plus tard, un ange lui apparut, au désert de la montagne de Sinaï, dans la flamme d’un buisson en feu. 31 Moïse, voyant cela, fut étonné de cette apparition; et, comme il s’approchait pour examiner, la voix du Seigneur se fit entendre: 32 Je suis le Dieu de tes pères, le Dieu d’Abraham, d’Isaac et de Jacob. Et Moïse, tout tremblant, n’osait regarder. 33 Le Seigneur lui dit: Ote tes souliers de tes pieds, car le lieu sur lequel tu te tiens est une terre sainte. 34 J’ai vu la souffrance de mon peuple qui est en Égypte, j’ai entendu ses gémissements, et je suis descendu pour le délivrer. Maintenant, va, je t’enverrai en Égypte. 35 Ce Moïse, qu’ils avaient renié, en disant: Qui t’a établi chef et juge? C’est lui que Dieu envoya comme chef et comme libérateur avec l’aide de l’ange qui lui était apparu dans le buisson. 36 C’est lui qui les fit sortir d’Égypte, en opérant des prodiges et des miracles au pays d’Égypte, au sein de la mer Rouge, et au désert, pendant quarante ans. 37 C’est ce Moïse qui dit aux fils d’Israël: Dieu vous suscitera d’entre vos frères un prophète comme moi. 38 C’est lui qui, lors de l’assemblée au désert, étant avec l’ange qui lui parlait sur la montagne de Sinaï et avec nos pères, reçut des oracles vivants, pour nous les donner. 39 Nos pères ne voulurent pas lui obéir, ils le repoussèrent, et ils tournèrent leur cœur vers l’Égypte, 40 en disant à Aaron: Fais-nous des dieux qui marchent devant nous; car ce Moïse qui nous a fait sortir du pays d’Égypte, nous ne savons ce qu’il est devenu. 41 Et, en ces jours-là, ils firent un veau, ils offrirent un sacrifice à l’idole, et se réjouirent de l’œuvre de leurs mains. 42 Alors Dieu se détourna, et les livra au culte de l’armée du ciel, selon qu’il est écrit dans le livre des prophètes:
M’avez-vous offert des victimes et des sacrifices
Pendant quarante ans au désert, maison d’Israël?…
43 Vous avez porté la tente de Moloch
Et l’étoile du dieu Remphan,
Ces images que vous avez faites pour les adorer!
Aussi vous transporterai-je au-delà de Babylone. 44 Nos pères avaient au désert le tabernacle du témoignage, comme l’avait ordonné celui qui dit à Moïse de le faire d’après le modèle qu’il avait vu. 45 Et nos pères, l’ayant reçu, l’introduisirent, sous la conduite de Josué, dans le pays qui était possédé par les nations que Dieu chassa devant eux, et il y resta jusqu’aux jours de David. 46 David trouva grâce devant Dieu, et demanda d’élever une demeure pour le Dieu de Jacob; 47 et ce fut Salomon qui lui bâtit une maison. 48 Mais le Très-Haut n’habite pas dans ce qui est fait de main d’homme, comme dit le prophète:
49 Le ciel est mon trône,
Et la terre mon marchepied.
Quelle maison me bâtirez-vous, dit le Seigneur,
Ou quel sera le lieu de mon repos?
50 N’est-ce pas ma main qui a fait toutes ces choses?…
V. 51-60: cf. Mt 23:29-36. (2 Ti 4:6-8. Ap 2:10; 7:13-17.)51 Hommes au cou raide, incirconcis de cœur et d’oreilles! Vous vous opposez toujours au Saint-Esprit. Ce que vos pères ont été, vous l’êtes aussi. 52 Lequel des prophètes vos pères n’ont-ils pas persécuté? Ils ont tué ceux qui annonçaient d’avance la venue du Juste, que vous avez livré maintenant, et dont vous avez été les meurtriers, 53 vous qui avez reçu la loi d’après des commandements d’anges, et qui ne l’avez point gardée!… 54 En entendant ces paroles, ils étaient furieux dans leur cœur, et ils grinçaient des dents contre lui. 55 Mais Étienne, rempli du Saint-Esprit, et fixant les regards vers le ciel, vit la gloire de Dieu et Jésus debout à la droite de Dieu. 56 Et il dit: Voici, je vois les cieux ouverts, et le Fils de l’homme debout à la droite de Dieu. 57 Ils poussèrent alors de grands cris, en se bouchant les oreilles, et ils se précipitèrent tous ensemble sur lui, 58 le traînèrent hors de la ville, et le lapidèrent. Les témoins déposèrent leurs vêtements aux pieds d’un jeune homme nommé Saul. 59 Et ils lapidaient Étienne, qui priait et disait: Seigneur Jésus, reçois mon esprit! 60 Puis, s’étant mis à genoux, il s’écria d’une voix forte: Seigneur, ne leur impute pas ce péché! Et, après ces paroles, il s’endormit.
