Gen. xii. 1.

fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran;

3 and said to him, "Come "out from thy country, and "from thy kindred, and go "to the land which I will shew "thee:"

4 then he went out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Haran :

5 and from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land, in which ye now dwell:

6 yet he gave him no portion in it, not a footstep; though he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, that is, to his seed after him, although he had then no child:

7 and God spake thus; "That Gen. xv. 13. "his seed should sojourn in "a strange land, where they "would bring them into bond"age, and treat them evilly four "hundred years:

and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs:

10 and the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt:

11 but God was with him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions; and gave him grace and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt, and over his whole household.

12 And famine and great affliction came over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan; and our fathers found no suste

nance:

13 but when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers thither, a first time:

14 and, at the second time, Joseph became known to his brethren; and Joseph's family was made known to Pharaoh.

15 Then Joseph sent, and called to him his father Jacob, and all his family, being seventyfive souls :

16 and Jacob went down into Egypt, and died there, he, and our fathers;

17 and were carried back to Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought, for a sum of money, of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

18 But, when the time of the

promise, which God had sworn to Abraham, was drawing near, the people had grown and were multiplied in Egypt,

19 until another king arose over Egypt, who knew not Joseph:

20 the same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evilly treated our fathers, by casting out their new-born infants, that they should not live :

21 during which time Moses was born, who was exceeding beautiful, and was nourished in his father's house three months:

22 and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him as her

son:

23 and Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and was powerful in words and in deeds.

24 And when he had attained the full age of forty years, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel:

25 and seeing one of them injured, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and slew the Egyptian :

26 and he thought that his brethren would understand, that God gave them deliverance by his hand; but they understood not:

27 and, the next day, he shewed himself to two of them who

were contending, and urged them to be at peace, saying, Ye are brethren; why injure ye one another?

28 but, he that had injured his neighbour thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler Luke, xii. 14. and a judge over us?

29 wilt thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?

30 and Moses fled, at this saying; and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.

31 And when other forty years were fulfilled, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush:

32 and when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and, as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came to him,

33 saying, "I am the God of Exod. iii. 2, 6. thy fathers, the God of Abra"ham, and of Isaac, and of "Jacob!" and Moses trembled, and dared not to look at it:

34 and the Lord said to him, "Put off thy shoes from thy "feet; for the place on which "thou standest is holy ground:

35" I have seen and beheld "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."

36 That Moses whom they refused, saying, "Who made "thee a ruler and a judge?" the same did God, by the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush, send to be a ruler and a deliverer:

37 the same Moses, brought them out, working wonders and miracles in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness, during forty years: 38 the same Moses, is he who said to the children of Israel, The Lord your God will raise up to you, from among your brethren, a Prophet like to me; to him ye shall hearken: 39 the same Moses, is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness, with the angel that spake to him and to our fathers on the mount Sinai; and that chose out living oracles, to give

to us:

40 whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them; and turned back to Egypt in their hearts,

41 saying to Aaron, Make for us gods that may go thither before us; for, as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him:

42 and they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice to the idol; and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

43 Then God turned from

45 Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness; as he had commanded, who ordered Moses to make it according to the pattern which he had seen: 46 which tabernacle also our fathers, who received it from them, brought in, with Joshua, into the possession of the Gentiles whom God drove out before the face of our fathers;

47 until the days of David, who found favour before God, and desired to "find out an Ps. cxxxii. 5. "habitation for the God of "Jacob:"

48 but, Solomon built him a house :

49 yet, the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

25.

things?"

51 Ye stiffnecked and uncir

cumcised in heart and ears,

Acts, xxvii. ye always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so

Gal. iii. 19.

do ye:

52 which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they slew those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers:

53 who received the law by the ordinance of angels, yet have not kept it.

54 When they heard these words, they were cut to their hearts, and gnashed on him with their teeth:

55 but he, being full of the Holy Spirit, and looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God; 56 and he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the son of man standing on the right hand of God!

57 then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed on him with one accord;

58 and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul: 59 and they stoned Stephen, calling on the Lord, and say

spirit!

60 and kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge! and when he had said this, he fell asleep :

61 and Saul joined with them, in consenting to his death.

AN

CHAPTER VIII.

ND, at that time, a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and all, except the apostles, were dispersed throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.

2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him :

3 but Saul made havock of the church; and entering into every house, and haling both men and women, he committed them to prison.

4 Then, they that were dispersed, went about preaching the word:

many that were possessed with them; and many that were palsied, and lame, were healed: 8 and there was great joy in that city.

9 And a certain man, named Simon, was then in the city, exercising sorcery, and seducing the people of Samaria; saying, that he himself was some great

one:

10 to whom they all had adhered, from the least to the greatest, saying, This is he who is called the great power of God:

11 and they adhered to him, because for a long time he had seduced them by his sorceries: 12 but, when they had believed in Philip, preaching concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women:

13 and Simon himself also believed; and after he was baptized he attached himself to Philip, and was amazed when he beheld the miracles and signs which were done by

him.

14 But when the apostles that were in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John;

15 who, going down to them, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: 16 for as yet he had fallen on

none of them; but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus:

17 then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18 And when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given by the laying on of the hands of the apostles, he offered them

money;

19 saying, Give me also this authority, that he on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit:

20 but Peter said to him, Thy money perish, with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money:

21 thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the sight of God:

22 repent, therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee; 23 for I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity:

24 and Simon answered and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have said may come upon me:

25 but they returned to Jeru- v. 14. salem; and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans, testifying and declaring the word of the Lord.