Acts 7:45-57

⁴⁵Some years later Moses died, and Joshua was their leader. He and our grand-fathers came into this country and they fought against the people that lived here. God made those people run away, and our grand-fathers got this country, and they brought that tent with them into this country, and they kept it here for a long time, until David was their boss.

⁴⁶God was good to David. And David wanted to build a ceremony house for God. He is the God that all of us Israel people respect. So David asked God to let him build that house.

⁴⁷But God stopped David and instead it was David’s son, called Solomon, that built God’s ceremony house.

⁴⁸But, you know, our great God does not live in houses that people build. You see, God got one of his men to write about that in his book. He wrote,

⁴⁹‘God says, “I fill up all of heaven. It is my big seat. And the earth is just big enough to be something for me to rest my feet on. So what kind of house will you people build for me? You can’t build a place big enough for me to live in. You see, I made everything.” ’”

⁵¹Then Stephen told them straight, he said, “You mob are just like your grand-fathers of long ago. You don’t take any notice of God. You will not listen to him or do anything he says. You will not do anything the Holy Spirit tells you to do.

⁵²God sent men to your grand-fathers to tell them his messages but they beat up God’s men. He got some to say that God will send his really good man to us, but they even killed those messengers from God. Then that really good man came to us, and you mob told the people to kill him. You were the ones that murdered him.

⁵³You see, even though God sent his angel messengers to your grand-fathers to give you God’s law, you don’t listen, and you will not do anything it says.”

⁵⁴The Jewish council men heard Stephen say this and they got really angry. They were so angry they were grinding their teeth.

⁵⁵But the Holy Spirit controlled Stephen. He looked up into the sky and he saw God there, shining very bright, and he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side.

⁵⁶Stephen said, “Look, I can see into heaven. Its door is open, and I can see God’s special man there in heaven. He is standing at God’s right side.”

⁵⁷The Jewish council men heard this and they yelled out really loud. Then they covered their ears so they couldn’t hear Stephen. They jumped up quick and grabbed him.