And the high priest said, Are these things so?

And he said, Men, brothers and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran,

And said to him, "Come out from your land and from your relatives, and come into the land which I will show you."

Then he came forth from the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, after his father died, He removed him into this land, in which you now dwell.

Yet He did not give him an inheritance in it, not even a place to set his foot on; and He promised to give it to him for a possession and to his seed after him, while he had no child.

And God spoke in this way that his seed would be a sojourner in a foreign land, and they would enslave them and mistreat them four hundred years.

"And whatever nation they will serve as slaves I will judge," said God, "and after these things they will come forth and serve Me as priests in this place."

And He gave to him a covenant of circumcision; and thus Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac, Jacob; and Jacob, the twelve patriarchs.

And the patriarchs became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt; yet God was with him

And rescued him out of all his afflictions and granted him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he appointed him governor over Egypt and over all his house.

And a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan as well as great affliction; and our fathers could find no sustenance.

But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers out the first time.

And during the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's race became manifest to Pharaoh.

And Joseph sent word and called for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five souls in all.

And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he ended his days, he and our fathers.

And they were carried over to Shechem and placed in the tomb which Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham drew near, the people grew and were multiplied in Egypt,

Until another king rose up over Egypt who did not know of Joseph.

This one dealt craftily with our race and mistreated our fathers, so that they threw out their babies in order that they would not be kept alive.

At this time Moses was born and was lovely to God. And he was nurtured three months in his father's house.

And when he was thrown out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up and nurtured him as a son for herself.

And Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in his words and works.

But when he was approaching forty years of age, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the sons of Israel.

And when he saw one of them being wronged, he defended him, and he avenged him who was being oppressed by striking the Egyptian dead.

And he supposed that his brothers understood that God through his hand was giving salvation to them; but they did not understand.

And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, Men, you are brothers. Why are you wronging one another?

But the one who was wronging his neighbor pushed him away, saying, "Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us?

Do you want to do away with me the same way you did away with the Egyptian yesterday?"

And Moses fled at this word and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begot two sons.

And when forty years had been fulfilled, an Angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai in the flame of a thornbush fire.

And when Moses saw it, he marveled at the vision; and as he approached to examine it, there came the voice of the Lord:

"I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob." And Moses trembled and dared not examine it.

And the Lord said to him, "Untie the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.

I have surely seen the ill-treatment of My people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. And now, come, I will send you into Egypt."

This Moses, whom they refused, saying, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge? this one God has sent as both a ruler and a redeemer, along with the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the thornbush.

This man led them out, doing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, "A Prophet will God raise up unto you from your brothers, like me."

This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai and with our fathers, and who received living oracles to give to us.

To him our fathers were not willing to become obedient, but thrust him away and turned in their hearts to Egypt,

Saying to Aaron, "Make gods for us who will go before us; for this Moses, who has led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him."

And they made a calf in those days and brought up a sacrifice to the idol and were glad with the works of their hands.

But God turned and delivered them up to serve the host of heaven, even as it is written in the book of the prophets, "Did you offer slain beasts and sacrifices to Me for forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

And you took up the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god Rompha, the images which you made to worship. And I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

The tabernacle of testimony was with our fathers in the wilderness, even as He who spoke to Moses instructed him to make it, according to the pattern which he had seen.

This tabernacle our fathers, having in their turn received, also brought in with Joshua when they took possession of the nations, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David,

Who found favor before God and asked to find a habitation for the God of Jacob.

But Solomon built Him a house.

Yet the Most High does not dwell in that which is made by hands, even as the prophet says,

"Heaven is My throne, and the earth is a footstool for My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me, says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest?

Has not My hand made all these things?"

You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, you also do.

Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand concerning the coming of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become,

You who received the law as ordinances of angels and did not keep it.

Now as they heard these things, they were exasperated and gnashed their teeth at him.

But being full of the Holy Spirit, he looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;

And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

But they cried out with a loud voice and covered their ears and rushed upon him with one accord.

And they threw him outside of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man called Saul.

And they stoned Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!

And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.