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Acts 7:42

in Acts 7

But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

KJV

Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?

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This verse in Acts 7

Commentary

12 notes on this verse

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Acts · Written before 735.

Did you offer to me victims and sacrifices for forty years in the desert? Although they offered libations to the Lord out of necessity, they are said to have truly served idols with their hearts turned away, from the time when they transformed gold into …

The record, by era

The Church Fathers3 voices

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 17 · Written before 407.

proposed

"Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the Prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?" The expression, "gave them up," means, He suffered. Even when there was a Tabernacle, yet there were no sacrifices. "Did ye offer unto Me slain beasts and sacrifices?" There was "the tabernacle of witness," and yet it profited them nothing, but they were consumed. But neither before, nor afterwards, did the miracles profit them aught.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on Acts 17 · Written before 407.

proposed

"As it is written in the Book of the Prophets"-and observe, he does not cite the text without a purpose, but shows by it that there is no need of sacrifices; saying: "Did ye offer slain beasts and sacrifice to Me?"-He lays an emphasis on this word (to Me?). "Ye cannot say that it was from sacrificing to Me, that ye proceeded to sacrifice to them:-"by the space of forty years:" and this too, "in the wilderness," where He had most signally shown Himself their Protector.

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on Acts · Written before 550.

proposed

Consider that at first they brought them offering sacrifices, and then that they offered them to idols. For previously the name "sacrifices" is nowhere found, but there were precepts concerning living and rational animals. The testimony, however, does not introduce this randomly, but so as …

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Retractions on Acts · Written before 735.

proposed

And he handed them over to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets. He says this in the singular because among the Hebrews there is one book of the twelve prophets, and not twelve books, according to …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Acts · Written before 1107.

proposed

The expression "gave over… to serve" is used in place of "permitted," just as in the Apostle Paul's words "God gave them over to a debased mind" (Rom. 1:28) it is used in place of "permitted them to give themselves over." So he says: since …
6 more voices on this verse

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

proposed

Have ye offered to me - They had offered many sacrifices; but God did not accept them as offered to him, because they sacrificed to idols also; and did not sacrifice to him with an upright heart.
Then God turned,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

He applies this to those that prosecuted him, and sat in judgment upon him, sharply reproving them for their wickedness, by which they had brought upon themselves the ruin of their place and nation, and then could not bear to hear of it,

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Then God turned, and gave them up, etc. - He left them to themselves, and then they deified and worshipped the sun, moon, planets, and principal stars. In the book of the prophets - As this quotation is found in Amos, Amo 5:25, by the book of the prophets is meant the twelve minor prophets, which, in the ancient Jewish division of the sacred writings, formed only one book.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

gave them up--judicially. as . . . written in the book of the prophets--the twelve minor prophets, reckoned as one: the passage is from Am 5:25. have ye offered to me . . . sacrifices?--The answer is, Yes, but as if ye did it not; for "neither did ye offer to Me only, nor always, nor with a perfect and willing heart" [BENGEL].

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

Then God turned - That is, turned away from them; abandoned them to their own desires. The host of heaven - The stars, or heavenly bodies. The word “host” means “armies.” It is applied to the heavenly bodies because they are very numerous, and appear to be “marshalled” or arrayed in military order. It is from this that God is called Yahweh “of hosts,” as being the ruler of these well-arranged heavenly bodies. See the notes on Isa 1:9. The proof that they did this Stephen proceeds to allege by a question from the prophets. In the book of the prophets - Amo 5:25-26. The twelve minor prophets were commonly written in one volume, and were called the Book of the Prophets; that is, the book containing these several prophecies, Daniel, Hosea, Micah, etc. They were small “tracts” separately, and were bound up together to preserve them from being lost. This passage is not quoted literally; it is evidently made from memory; and though in its main spirit it coincides with the passage in Amos, yet in some important respects it varies from it. O ye house of Israel - Ye people of Israel. Have ye offered ... - That is, ye have not offered. The interrogative form is often an emphatic way of saying that the thing had “not” been done. But it is certain that the Jews did offer sacrifices to God in the wilderness, though it is also certain that they did not do it with a pure and upright heart. They kept up the form of worship generally, but they frequently forsook God, and offered worship to idols. through the continuous space of forty years they did “not” honor God, but often departed from him, and worshipped idols.

The words behind it

31 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Amos 5:25–26Did you bring Me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?28 worksRomans 1:24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.23 worksPsalms 81:12So I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.13 worksEzekiel 20:39And as for you, O house of Israel, this is what the Lord GOD says: Go and serve your idols, every one of you. But afterward, you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.11 worksJeremiah 19:13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”10 worksPsalms 81:11–12But My people would not listen to Me, and Israel would not obey Me.9 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Deuteronomy 4:19When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.8 worksJob 31:26–28if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,8 worksHebrews 3:15–17As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”8 worksIsaiah 63:10But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.8 worksActs 7:36He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.6 works2 Thessalonians 2:10–12and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.6 worksEzekiel 8:16So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.6 worksJoshua 24:20If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, He will turn and bring disaster on you and consume you, even after He has been good to you.”6 worksIsaiah 66:4So I will choose their punishment and I will bring terror upon them, because I called and no one answered, I spoke and no one listened. But they did evil in My sight and chose that in which I did not delight.”6 worksHosea 4:17Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone!6 worksEzekiel 20:25I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and ordinances by which they could not live.5 works2 Kings 17:16They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.5 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 4:19

    When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to…

    it leads to

    • Romans 1:25

      They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

    • Deuteronomy 17:3

      and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—

    • 2 Kings 21:3

      For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and he raised up altars for Baal. He made an Asherah pole, as King Ahab of Israel had done, and he worshiped…

    • Genesis 1:16–18

      God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.

    • Genesis 2:1

      Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

  • Through

    Jeremiah 19:13

    The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and…

    it leads to

    • Jeremiah 32:29

      And the Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come in, set it on fire, and burn it, along with the houses of those who provoked Me to anger by burning incense to…

    • 2 Kings 23:12

      He pulled down the altars that the kings of Judah had set up on the roof near the upper chamber of Ahaz, and the altars that Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards…

    • Jeremiah 7:18

      The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me…

Where this verse is studied

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About Acts

The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
The Pentecost, El Greco, about 1600, Museo del Prado. Public domain.
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 7 →
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Acts; Bede, Retractions on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Acts 17; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.

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