Acts 7
Wycliffe's Bible
1And the prince of priests said to Stephen, Whether these things have them so? (And the High Priest said to Stephen, Be these things true?)

2Which said, Brethren and fathers, hear ye (And he answered, Brothers and fathers, listen). [The] God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before that he dwelt in Charran, 3and said to him, Go out of thy land, and of thy kindred (Go out of thy land, and away from thy kinfolk), and come into the land, which I shall show to thee. 4Then he went out of the land of (the) Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Charran. And from thence after that his father was dead, he translated him into this land (he led him to this land), in which ye dwell now. 5And he gave not to him heritage in it (But he did not give him any inheritance in it), neither a pace of a foot, but he promised to give him it into possession, and to his seed after him, when he had not a son. 6And God spake to him, That his seed shall be [a] comeling, (or a guest), in an alien land, and they shall make them subject to servage, and shall evil treat them, (for) four hundred years and thirty [(for) four hundred years]; (And God said to him, That his descendants shall be newcomers in a foreign, or in a strange, land, and they shall make them subject to servitude, or to slavery, and shall treat them badly, or wickedly, for four hundred years;) 7and I shall judge the folk to whom they shall serve, saith the Lord (and I shall judge the nation, or the people, for whom they shall be slaves). And after these things they shall go out, and they shall serve to me in this place. 8And he gave to him the testament of circumcision; and so he engendered Isaac, and circumcised him in the eighth day. And Isaac engendered Jacob, and Jacob engendered the twelve patriarchs. (And he gave to him the covenant of circumcision; and so he begat Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat the twelve patriarchs.)

9And the patriarchs had envy to Joseph, and sold him into Egypt. And God was with him, 10and delivered him (out) of all his tribulations, and gave him grace and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he ordained him sovereign on Egypt, and on all his house.

11And hunger came into all Egypt, and Canaan, and great tribulation; and our fathers found not meat (and our fathers could not find any food). 12But when Jacob had heard, that wheat was in Egypt, he sent our fathers (on their) first (visit). 13And in the second time Joseph was known of his brethren (And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers), and his kin was made known to Pharaoh. 14And Joseph sent, and called Jacob, his father, and all his kindred, seventy and five men, (or souls). 15And Jacob came down into Egypt, and was dead, he and our fathers; 16and they were translated into Sychem, and were laid in the sepulchre, that Abraham bought by price of silver of the sons of Emmor, the son of Sychem. (and they were taken to Shechem, and were laid in the tomb, that Abraham bought with silver from the sons of Emmor, the son of Shechem.)

17And when the time of (the) promise came nigh, which God had acknowledged to Abraham, the people waxed, and multiplied in Egypt (the people grew, and multiplied in Egypt), 18till another king (a)rose in Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 19This beguiled our kin, and tormented our fathers, that they should put away, (or that they should put out), their young children, for they should not live. 20In the same time Moses was born, and he was loved of God, (or he was accepted of God) (At that time Moses was born, and he was loved by God); and he was nourished, (or he was nursed), three months in the house of his father. 21And when he was put out in the river, the daughter of Pharaoh took him up, and nourished him into her son (and raised him as her own son). 22And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of (the) Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and works. 23But when the time of forty years was [full-]filled to him, it rose up into his heart, that he should visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. 24And when he saw a man suffering wrong, he (a)venged him, and did vengeance for him that suffered the wrong, and killed the Egyptian. 25For he guessed that his brethren should understand, that God should give to them health, (or deliverance), by the hand of him; but they understood not. 26For in the day (pur)suing he appeared to them (who were) chiding (For on the following day he appeared to two men who were fighting), and he accorded them, (or he reconciled them), in peace, and said, Men, ye be brethren; why harm ye each other? 27But he that did the wrong to his neighbour, putted him away, and said, Who ordained thee prince and doomsman on us? (But he who did the wrong to his neighbour, pushed him away and said, Who made thee lord and judge over us?) 28Whether thou wilt slay me, as yesterday thou killedest the Egyptian? 29And in this word Moses flew, and was made a comeling in the land of Madian (and was made a newcomer in the land of Midian), where he begat two sons.

30And when he had [ful]filled forty years, an angel appeared to him in (the) fire of (the) flame of a bush, in desert of the mount of Sina (in the desert of Mount Sinai). 31And Moses saw, and wondered on the sight. And when he nighed to behold, the voice of the Lord was made to him, (And Moses saw, and wondered at the sight. And when he approached to look at it, the voice of the Lord was made to him,) 32and said, I am (the) God of your fathers, (the) God of Abraham, God of Isaac, [and] God of Jacob. Moses was made trembling, and durst not behold. 33But God said to him, Do off the shoes of thy feet, for the place in which thou standest is holy earth (for the place where thou standest is holy ground). 34I seeing saw the tormenting, (or the affliction), of my people that is in Egypt, and I heard the mourning of them, and came down to deliver them. And now come thou, and I shall send thee into Egypt.

35This Moses whom they denied, saying, Who ordained thee prince and doomsman on us? God sent this prince and again-buyer, with the hand of the angel, that appeared to him in the bush. (This Moses whom they denied, saying, Who ordained thee lord and judge over us? God sent this leader and this redeemer, by the hand of the angel, who appeared to him in the bush.) 36This Moses led them out, and did wonders and signs, (or miracles), in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea (and in the Sea of Reeds), and in (the) desert (for) forty years. 37This is Moses, that said to the sons of Israel, God shall raise to you a prophet of your brethren, [and] as me ye shall hear him. 38This it is, that was in the church in wilderness, with the angel that spake to him in the mount of Sina, and with our fathers; which took words of life to give to us. (This is he, who was with the congregation in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; who received the Words of Life to give to us.) 39To whom our fathers would not obey, but putted him away, and were turned away in their hearts into Egypt (and their hearts were turned back to Egypt), 40saying to Aaron, Make thou to us gods, that shall go before us; for to this Moses that led us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is done to him. 41And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the maumet, (or to the simulacrum) (and offered a sacrifice to the idol); and they were glad in the works of their hands. 42And God turned, and betook them to serve to the knighthood, (or to the host), of heaven (And God turned away from them, and delivered them over to serve, or to worship, the stars of the heavens), as it is written in the book of [the] prophets, Whether ye, house of Israel, offered to me slain sacrifices, either sacrifices, (for) forty years in (the) desert? 43And ye have taken the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures that ye have made to worship them; and I shall translate you into Babylon (and so I shall lead you to Babylon).

44The tabernacle of witnessing was with our fathers in desert (The Tabernacle, or the Tent, of the Testimony was with our fathers in the desert), as God assigned to them, and spake to Moses, that he should make it after the form that he saw. 45Which also our fathers took with Jesus, that was Joshua, and brought into the possession of (the) heathen men, which God putted away from the face of our fathers, till into the days of David, 46that found grace with God, and asked that he should find a tabernacle to (the) God of Jacob. (who found grace with God, and asked if he could make a Tabernacle for the God of Jacob.) 47But Solomon builded the house to him. [Solomon forsooth built an house to him.] (But it was Solomon who built a House, or the Temple, for him.) 48But the high God dwelleth not in things made by hand, as he saith by the prophet,

49Heaven is a seat to me, (Heaven is my throne), and the earth is the stool of my feet; what house shall ye build to me, saith the Lord, either what place is of my resting? [or which is the place of my resting?]

50Whether mine hand made not all these things?

51With hard noll, and uncircumcised hearts and ears ye withstand (for)evermore the Holy Ghost; and as your fathers, so ye. (With a stiff neck, and uncircumcised hearts and ears, ye always stand against the Holy Spirit; and so ye be just like your fathers.) 52Whom of the prophets have not your fathers pursued (Whom of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted), and have slain them that before-told of the coming of the rightful man, (or of the just man), whose traitors and manslayers ye were now? 53Which took the law in ordinance of angels, and have not kept it. (Who received the Law through the facility of angels, but have not obeyed it.)

54And they heard these things, and were diversely tormented in their hearts, and they grinded, or gnashed, with (their) teeth on him. 55But when Stephen was full of the Holy Ghost, he beheld into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right half of the virtue of God. (But when Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit, he beheld into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right side, or at the right hand, of the power of God.) 56And he said, Lo! I see heavens opened, and man's Son [and the Son of man] standing on the right half of the virtue of God. (And he said, Lo! I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right side, or at the right hand, of the power of God.) 57And they cried with a great voice, and stopped their ears, and made with one will an assault into him. 58And they brought him out of the city, and stoned [him]. And the witnesses did off their clothes, beside the feet of a young man, that was called Saul. 59And they stoned Stephen, that called God to help (who called to God for help), saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60And he kneeled, and cried with a great voice, and said, Lord, set not to them this sin (Lord, do not hold this sin against them). And when he had said this thing, he died, (or he slept, in the Lord).

WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE

Comprising of
Wycliffe’s Old Testament

and

Wycliffe’s New Testament
(Revised Edition)


Translated by

JOHN WYCLIFFE
and JOHN PURVEY


A modern-spelling edition of their
14TH century Middle English translation,
the first complete English vernacular version,
with an Introduction by

TERENCE P. NOBLE

Used by Permission

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