Acts 7:44-45

7:44 Our ancestors ¹  had the tabernacle ²  of testimony in the wilderness, ³  just as God ⁴  who spoke to Moses ordered him ⁵  to make it according to the design he had seen. 7:45 Our ⁶  ancestors ⁷  received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors, ⁸  until the time ⁹  of David.

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¹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

² tn Or “tent.”

sn The tabernacle was the tent used to house the ark of the covenant before the construction of Solomon’s temple. This is where God was believed to reside, yet the people were still unfaithful.

³ tn Or “desert.”

⁴ tn Grk “the one”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

⁶ tn Grk “And.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

⁷ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

⁸ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

sn Before our ancestors. Stephen has backtracked here to point out how faithful God had been before the constant move to idolatry just noted.

⁹ tn Grk “In those days.”