God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
Parallel translations
- WEB God spoke in this way: that his offspring would live as aliens in a strange land, and that they would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years.
- KJV And God spake on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years.
- NKJV But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.
- NASB But God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be strangers in a land that was not theirs, and they would enslave and mistreat them for four hundred years.
- NLT God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
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 foretold that Abraham's offspring would be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. God's promise included a long season of suffering before deliverance.
Overview
Stephen recalls God's prophecy to Abraham of the Egyptian bondage. The foretelling shows God's sovereign foreknowledge over Israel's hardship as well as its hope. It reminds the council that God's plan unfolded through affliction, preparing the way for the exodus deliverance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 15:13Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Exod 12:40–41Now the duration of the Israelites’ stay in Egypt was 430 years.
- Gal 3:17What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.
- Gen 15:16In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
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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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