And the high priest said, Are these things so?
And he said,
Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,
and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.
Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell:
and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should bring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years.
And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.
And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.
And the patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt: and God was with him,
and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the first time.
And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pharaoh.
And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, himself and our fathers;
and they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of {Greek: Emmor.}Hamor in Shechem.
But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,
till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph.
The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that {Or, he}they should cast out their babes to the end they might not {Greek: be preserved alive.}live.
At which season Moses was born, and was {Or, fair unto God Compare 2 Corinthians 10:4.}exceeding fair; and he was nourished three months in his father's house.
and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and works.
But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.
And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian:
and he supposed that his brethren understood that God by his hand was giving them {Or, salvation}deliverance; but they understood not.
And the day following he appeared unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?
But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
Wouldest thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday?
And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.
And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
And when Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there came a voice of the Lord,
I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
And the Lord said unto him, Loose the shoes from thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I am come down to deliver them: and now come, I will send thee into Egypt.
This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? him hath God sent to be both a ruler and a {Greek: redeemer.}deliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush.
This man led them forth, having wrought wonders and signs in Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
This is that Moses, who said unto the children of Israel, {Deuteronomy 18:15}A prophet shall God raise up unto you from among your brethren, {Or, as he raised up me}like unto me.
This is he that was in the {Or, congregation}church in the wilderness with the angel that spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received living oracles to give unto us:
to whom our fathers would not be obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned back in their hearts unto Egypt,
saying unto Aaron, Make us gods that shall go before us: for as for this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.
And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands.
But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets,
{Amos 5:25 ff.}Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices
Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,
And the star of the god Rephan,
The figures which ye made to worship them:
And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, even as he appointed who spake unto Moses, that he should make it according to the figure that he had seen.
Which also our fathers, in their turn, brought in with {Greek: Jesus. Compare Hebrews 4:8.}Joshua when they entered on the possession of the {Or, Gentiles Compare chapter 4:25}nations, that God thrust out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David;
who found favor in the sight of God, and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.
But Solomon built him a house.
Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands; as saith the prophet,
{Isaiah 66:1 f.}The heaven is my throne,
And the earth the footstool of my feet:
What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord:
Or what is the place of my rest?
Did not my hand make all these things?
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;
ye who received the law {Or, as the ordinance of angels Greek: unto ordinances of angels.}as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.
But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;
and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Querverweise zu Apostelgeschichte 7,38 Apg 7,38
And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession {Or, above}from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.
And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah.
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto Jehovah.
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments,
and be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
no hand shall touch {Or, it}him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live: when the {Or, ram's horn}trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.
And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled.
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
And when forty years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
Now these are the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.
If thou buy a Hebrew {Or, bondman}servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
If his master give him a wife and she bear him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself.
But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:
then his master shall bring him unto {Or, the judges}God, and shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
And if a man sell his daughter to be a {Or, bondwoman}maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
If she please not her master, {Another reading is, so that he hath not espoused her.}who hath espoused her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
If he take him another wife; her {Hebrew: flesh.}food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out for nothing, without money.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed;
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? him hath God sent to be both a ruler and a {Greek: redeemer.}deliverer with the hand of the angel that appeared to him in the bush.
Go thou near, and hear all that Jehovah our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that Jehovah our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.
And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and Jehovah said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken.
{Or, Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me, and keep all my commandments, that &c.}Oh that there were such a heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!
Go say to them, Return ye to your tents.
But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.
to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; for {Or, that}he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin not.
ye who received the law {Or, as the ordinance of angels Greek: unto ordinances of angels.}as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.
Now this is the commandment, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it;
that thou mightest fear Jehovah thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath promised unto thee, in a land flowing with milk and honey.
And he said unto them, Set your heart unto all the words which I testify unto you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, even all the words of this law.
and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, {Hebrew: It is enough for you.}Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and Jehovah is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of Jehovah?
And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face:
and he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, In the morning Jehovah will show who are his, and who is holy, and {Or, whom he will cause to come near}will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he shall choose will he cause to come near unto him.
This do: take you censers, Korah, and all his company;
and put fire in them, and put incense upon them before Jehovah to-morrow: and it shall be that the man whom Jehovah doth choose, he shall be holy: ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.
And Moses said unto Korah, Hear now, ye sons of Levi:
seemeth it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of Jehovah, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them;
and that he hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and seek ye the priesthood also?
Therefore thou and all thy company are gathered together against Jehovah: and Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him?
And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said, We will not come up:
is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us?
Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou {Hebrew: bore out.}put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
And Moses was very wroth, and said unto Jehovah, Respect not thou their offering: I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.
And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before Jehovah, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow:
and take ye every man his censer, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before Jehovah every man his censer, two hundred and fifty censers; thou also, and Aaron, each his censer.
And they took every man his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron.
And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting: and the glory of Jehovah appeared unto all the congregation.
And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.
And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.
And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him.
And he spake unto the congregation, saying, Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be consumed in all their sins.
So they gat them up from the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side: and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, and their wives, and their sons, and their little ones.
And Moses said, Hereby ye shall know that Jehovah hath sent me to do all these works; for I have not done them of mine own mind.
If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then Jehovah hath not sent me.
But if Jehovah {Hebrew: create a creation.}make a new thing, and the ground open its mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into Sheol; then ye shall understand that these men have despised Jehovah.
And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them;
and the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into Sheol: and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly.
And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up.
And fire came forth from Jehovah, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.
{Another reading is, In all their adversity he was no adversary}In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Moses commanded us a law,An inheritance for the assembly of Jacob.
For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over the Jordan to possess it.
But on the morrow all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying, Ye have killed the people of Jehovah.
What then is the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise hath been made; and it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator.
Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments,
For he established a testimony in Jacob,And appointed a law in Israel,Which he commanded our fathers,That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them, even the children that should be born;Who should arise and tell them to their children,
That they might set their hope in God,And not forget the works of God,But keep his commandments,
And might not be as their fathers,A stubborn and rebellious generation,A generation {Or, that prepared not their hearts}that set not their heart aright,And whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,Turned back in the day of battle.
And it came to pass, when the congregation was assembled against Moses and against Aaron, that they looked toward the tent of meeting: and, behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of Jehovah appeared.
For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward;
and madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them commandments, and statutes, and a law, by Moses thy servant,
It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Much every way: first of all, that they were intrusted with the oracles of God.
who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus, {Deuteronomy 30:12 f.}Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down:)
or, Who shall descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.)
But what saith it? {Deuteronomy 30:14}The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach:
{Or, that}because if thou shalt {Some ancient authorities read confess the word with thy mouth, that Jesus is Lord.}confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved:
for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again {Or, that one teach you which are the rudiments}that some one teach you the rudiments of the {Greek: beginning.}first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food.
if any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God; if any man ministereth, ministering as of the strength which God supplieth: that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whose is the glory and the dominion {Greek: unto the ages of the ages.}for ever and ever. Amen.