Ma'ashym (Acts) — 7
Staphan Addresses the Council
1 Then the high Kuhan asked Staphan, “Are these accusations true?”
2 This was Staphan’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our marvelous 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Masuputamia before he settled in Haran.
3 And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH told Abraham, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’
4 So Abraham left the land of the Chaldaans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH brought him here to the land where you now live.
5 “But 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH gave Abraham no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. For 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants, even though Abraham had no children yet.
6 For 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH also told Abraham that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years.
7 ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship ME here in this place.’
8 “And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Yachaq, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Yachaq became the father of Ya'aqub, and when Ya'aqub became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Yasharalym nation.
9 “These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Ya'asaf, and they sold him to be a slave in Mitzraym. But 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH was with Ya'asaf
10 And rescued Ya'asaf from all his troubles. And 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH gave Ya'asaf favor before Pharuh, king of Mitzraym. For 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH also gave Ya'asaf unusual wisdom, so that Pharuh appointed Ya'asaf governor over all of Mitzraym and put him in charge of the palace.
11 “But a famine came upon Mitzraym and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food.
12 Ya'aqub heard that there was still grain in Mitzraym, so he sent his sons, our ancestors to buy some.
13 The second time they went, Ya'asaf revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharuh.
14 Then Ya'asaf sent for his father, Ya'aqub, and all his relatives to come to Mitzraym, seventy-five persons in all.
15 So Ya'aqub went to Mitzraym. He died there, as did our ancestors.
16 Their bodies were taken to Shacham and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamur’s sons in Shacham.
17 “As the time drew near when 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Mitzraym greatly increased.
18 But then a new king came to the throne of Mitzraym who knew nothing about Ya'asaf.
19 This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.
20 “At that time Musha was born, a beautiful child in 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months.
21 Then they had to abandon him, Pharuh’s daughter adopted Musha and raised him as her own son.
22 Musha was taught all the wisdom of the Mitzraym, and Musha was powerful in both speech and action.
23 “One day when Musha was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Mitzraym.
24 He saw a Mitzraym mistreating a Yasharalym. So Musha came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Mitzraym.
25 Musha assumed his fellow Yasharalym would realize that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH had sent him to rescue them, but they did not.
26 “The next day Musha visited them again and saw two men of Yashar'AL fighting. Musha tried to bring Shalum to them. Musha said 'Men, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’
27 “But the man in the wrong pushed Musha aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked.
28 ‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Mitzraym yesterday?’
29 When Musha heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.
30 “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH appeared to Musha in the flame of a burning bush.
31 When Musha saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the Voice of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH called out to Musha,
32 ‘I am the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of your fathers, the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Abraham, Yachaq, and Ya'aqub.’ Musha shook with terror and did not dare to look.
33 “Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH Dabar to Musha, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on Qadash ground.
34 I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Mitzraym. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Mitzraym.’
35 “So 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH sent back the same Musha his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the Malak who guided Musha to the burning bush, Where 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH spoke to Musha, Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH sent Musha to be their ruler and savior.
36 And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, Musha led them out of Mitzraym, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.
37 “Musha himself told the people of Yashar'AL, ‘𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH will raise up for you a Nabym like me from among your own people.’
38 Musha was with our fathers, the Assembly of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s people in the wilderness, when 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH spoke to Musha at Mount Sinai. And there Musha received life-giving Dabar to pass on to us.
39 “But our ancestors refused to listen to Musha. They rejected him and wanted to return to Mitzraym.
40 They told Aarun, ‘Make us an idol who can lead us, for we do not know what has become of this Musha, who brought us out of Mitzraym.’
41 So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made.
42 Then 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of Shamaym as their mighty ones! In the book of the Nabyms it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, O Yashar'AL?
43 No, you carried your pagan idols, the shrine of Mulach, the star of your idol Raphan, and the images you made to worship them, so I will send you into exile as far away as Babylun.’
44 “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH had shown to Musha.
45 Years later, when Yahusha Ba'Nun led our fathers in battle against the nations that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King Daud.
46 “Daud found favor with 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the 𐤀𐤋𐤅𐤄_ALUAH of Ya'aqub.
47 But it was Shalumah who actually built the Temple.
48 However, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH does not live in a Temple made by man's hands. As the Nabyms said,
49 ‘Shamaym is my throne, and the Arath is my footstool, Could you build me a Temple as good as that?’ asks 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH. ‘Could you build me such a resting place?
50 Did my hands not make both Shamaym and the Arath?’
51 “You stubborn people! You are idol Worshipers at heart and deaf to the Truth. Must you forever resist the RUACH Ha'Qadash? That is what your fathers did, and so do you!
52 Name one Nabym your fathers did not persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, Ha'Mashyach whom you betrayed and murdered.
53 You deliberately disobeyed 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s Turah, even though you received it from the hands of Musha and the guidance of the Malak of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH .”
54 The Yahudym leaders were infuriated by Staphan’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage.
55 But Staphan, full of the RUACH Ha'Qadash, gazed steadily into Shamaym and saw the Kabad of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, and he saw 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏_YAHUSHA standing in the place of honor at 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s right hand.
56 And Staphan told them, “Look, I see the Shamaym opened and the Son of Adam standing in the place of honor at 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH’s right hand!”
57 Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. And they rushed at Staphan
58 And dragged Staphan out of the city and began to stone him, and his accusers took off their clothes and laid them at the feet of a young man named Shaul.
59 As they stoned Staphan, he prayed, my MASTER 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏_YAHUSHA, receive my ruach.”
60 He fell to his knees, shouting, “𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄_YAHUAH, do not charge them with this sin!” And with that, Staphan died.