Acts 7:57
What does Acts 7:57 mean?
A plain-English look at Acts 7:57 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Acts 7:57 means
They cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and rushed upon Stephen with one accord. The response is willful rejection: they refuse to hear and surrender to mob violence. Stephen’s testimony about Jesus’ exaltation is intolerable to them. The unified rush shows collective responsibility; the council abandons due process in zeal. This tragic scene reveals the depth of resistance described earlier—stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. Truth is met not with examination but with suppression. Stephen stands alone before a hostile assembly, yet God has shown him heaven’s verdict. Their fury will soon end his life, but not his testimony.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949But with loud cries, and stopping their ears, they made an attack on him all together,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And they, having cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and did rush with one accord upon him,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And casting him forth without the city. they stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And they cried out with a loud voice, and held their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord;
Context
After Stephen’s declaration of the Son of man at God’s right hand (verse 56), the council explodes in rage. Verse 57 describes their immediate, coordinated move toward violence. Verse 58 will take Stephen outside the city to stone him, noting that the witnesses lay their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. This transition signals the shift from judicial setting to extrajudicial execution, setting the stage for Stephen’s prayers and death (verses 59–60).
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Acts 21:27
And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him,
- Psalms 58:4
Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear,
- Zechariah 7:11
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
- Proverbs 21:13
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, He also shall cry, but shall not be heard.
- Acts 7:54
Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
- Acts 23:27
This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be slain of them, when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.
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