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I have seen, 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, I will send thee into Egypt.
Acts 7:34 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning. I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you into Egypt.’
  • BSB I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
  • NKJV I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’
  • NASB I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
  • NLT I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’

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

God declared He had seen Israel's affliction, heard their groaning, and come to deliver them through Moses. God hears and acts to rescue His suffering people.

Overview

Stephen quotes God's commission of Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt (Exodus 3:7-10). God's seeing, hearing, and coming down to save reveals His compassionate, redeeming character. This pattern of divine rescue finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ, whom God sent to deliver His people from sin.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 21

  • Exod 3:7–10And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
  • Neh 9:9And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;
  • Exod 4:31And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.
  • Ps 106:44Nevertheless he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry:
  • John 6:38For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
  • Exod 2:23–25And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
  • Exod 3:14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
  • Hos 12:13And by a prophet the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved.
  • Isa 63:8–9For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
  • Ps 105:26He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.
  • Judg 10:15–16And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
  • John 3:13And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
  • Num 11:17And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
  • Isa 64:1Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
  • Mic 6:4For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
  • Ps 144:5Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
  • Exod 6:5–6And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
  • Gen 18:21I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
  • Judg 2:18And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
  • Gen 11:7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.
  • Gen 11:5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Acts 7:34YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 7:34 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.