And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian.
Parallel translations
- WEB Seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him who was oppressed, striking the Egyptian.
- KJV And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:
- BSB And when he saw one of them being mistreated, Moses went to his defense and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian who was oppressing him.
- NASB And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian.
- NLT He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Seeing an Israelite wronged, Moses intervened and killed the Egyptian oppressor. His zeal to defend his people was real, though his method was premature and flawed.
Overview
Stephen recalls Moses defending a mistreated Israelite by striking down the Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12). His desire to deliver was genuine, but acting on his own initiative led to violence and exile. Stephen's point is that Israel's true deliverer was rejected at first, just as they had now rejected Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- John 18:10–11Simon Peter therefore, having a sword, drew it, and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
- Acts 7:28Do you want to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
- John 18:25–27Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They said therefore to him, “You aren’t also one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, and said, “I am not.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 7:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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