To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,
Parallel translations
- WEB to whom our fathers wouldn’t be obedient, but rejected him, and turned back in their hearts to Egypt,
- BSB But our fathers refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.
- NKJV whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,
- NASB Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,
- NLT “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return 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
Israel refused to obey Moses and turned back in their hearts to Egypt. Their disobedience exposes the persistent rebellion of God's people.
Overview
Stephen now turns the indictment toward Israel: the fathers rejected Moses and longed for Egypt (Numbers 14:3-4). Their heart turning back from God's deliverer parallels the resistance Stephen's hearers showed toward Christ. This continues his argument that rejecting God's messengers is a recurring sin in Israel's history.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Num 14:3–4And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
- Num 11:5We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
- Neh 9:16–17But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
- Exod 16:3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
- Ezek 20:6–14In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
- Acts 7:51–52Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
- Ps 106:32–33They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes:
- Num 21:5And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
- Exod 14:11–12And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
- Exod 17:3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
- Judg 11:2And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.
- 1 Kgs 2:27So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh.
- Acts 7:27But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
- Ps 106:16They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
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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.
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Original language
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