And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Parallel translations
- WEB They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
- BSB While they were stoning him, Stephen appealed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
- NKJV And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
- NASB They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
- NLT As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
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
As they stoned him, Stephen prayed for the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit. His dying faith rested wholly in the risen Christ.
Overview
Stephen commits his spirit to Jesus, echoing Jesus' own words from the cross (Luke 23:46) but addressing them to Christ. This prayer is a striking confession of Jesus' deity and lordship, entrusting his soul to Him as to God. His peaceful faith in death testifies to the hope believers have in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Luke 23:46And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
- Ps 31:5Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.
- Acts 22:16And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
- Acts 9:14And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
- Joel 2:32And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
- 1 Cor 1:2Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
- Acts 2:21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- Acts 9:21But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
- Rom 10:12–14For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
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 7:59 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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