Acts 7:52
in Acts 7Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers;
KJV
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
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This verse in Acts 7
Commentary
11 notes on this verseWhich of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? - Ye have not only resisted the Holy Ghost, but ye have persecuted all those who have spoken to you in his name, and by his influence: thus ye prove your opposition to the Spirit himself, by your opposition to every thing that proceeds from him. They have slain them, etc. - Isaiah, who showed before of the coming of Christ, the Jews report, was sawn asunder at the command of Manasseh.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
If then, he says, you kill those who foretold his coming, it is nothing remarkable that I, proclaiming the foretold one, should be killed by you. Nor was he ignorant that he would die at their hands, being full of the Holy Spirit. Therefore he …
He calls him righteous, showing that if he is righteous, those who killed him are exceedingly unjust. And he calls him righteous, which even they could not deny. For nowhere, even being very stubborn, did they accuse him of any injustice. For how could they, …
And he calls these his betrayers and murderers, as being partners with those who crucified him, and indeed, he says, having received the law, they hold commands, some of them making the bringing of an offering equivalent to the conduct of those who pay the …
Speaking these things we know that the blessed Stephen speaks the truth, being spoken through by the Holy Spirit. But to prove this from the Old Testament how those who disbelieve in Jesus blame their fathers for persecuting and killing the prophets is not possible …
"Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One:" he still says, "the Just One," wishing to check them: "of Whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers"-two charges he lays against them-"who have received the Law by the disposition of Angels, and have not kept it."
5 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The third high reputation concerns merits, miracles and martyrdom. And this certainty of truth appears when a man wills to die for the truth he preaches, such as Isaiah who was cut up, Ezechiel who was killed, Jeremiah and also the other prophets. Which of …
"Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?" If your fathers killed these foreheralds, then there is nothing surprising that I, who preach the One foretold by them, will be killed by you, who take too much pride in your ancestors. "They killed those …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Which of, &c.--Deadly hostility to the messengers of God, whose high office it was to tell of "the Righteous One," that well-known prophetic title of Messiah (Isa 53:11;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Which of the prophets ... - The interrogative form here is a strong mode of saying that they had persecuted “all” the prophets. It was “the characteristic of the nation” to persecute the messengers of God. This is not to be taken as literally and universally true; but it was a general truth; it was the national characteristic. See the notes on Mat 21:33-40; Mat 23:29-35. And they have slain them ... - That is, they have slain the prophets, whose main message was that the Messiah was to come. It was a great aggravation of their offence that they put to death the messengers which foretold the greatest blessing that the nation could receive. The Just One - The Messiah. See the notes on Act 3:14. Of whom ye ... - You thus show that you resemble those who rejected and put to death the prophets. You have even gone beyond them in guilt, because you have put the Messiah himself to death. The betrayers - They are called “betrayers” here because they employed Judas to betray him - agreeable to the maxim in law, “He who does anything by another is held to have done it himself.”
The words behind it
24 Greek wordsEvery 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.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| τίνα | tina | Which | G5101 → | 563 times |
| τῶν | ton | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| προφητῶν | propheton | prophets | G4396 → | 144 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| ἐδίωξαν | edioxan | did persecute | G1377 → | 45 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατέρες | pateres | fathers | G3962 → | 410 times |
| ὑμῶν; | humon | of you? | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἀπέκτειναν | apekteinan | they killed | G615 → | 74 times |
| τοὺς | tous | those | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| προκαταγγείλαντας | prokatangeilantas | having foretold | G4293 → | |
| περὶ | peri | about | G4012 → | 332 times |
| τῆς | tes | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἐλεύσεως | eleuseos | coming | G1660 → | |
| τοῦ | tou | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δικαίου, | dikaiou | Righteous One, | G1342 → | 79 times |
| οὗ | hou | of whom | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| νῦν | nun | now | G3568 → | 145 times |
| ὑμεῖς | humeis | you yourselves | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| προδόται | prodotai | betrayers | G4273 → | |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| φονεῖς | phoneis | murderers | G5406 → | 7 times |
| ἐγένεσθε· | egenesthe | have become; | G1096 → | 667 times |
τίναWhich
tinaG5101 →563 times
τῶνof the
tonG3588 →19766 times
προφητῶνprophets
prophetonG4396 →144 times
οὐκnot
oukG3756 →1664 times
ἐδίωξανdid persecute
edioxanG1377 →45 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
πατέρεςfathers
pateresG3962 →410 times
ὑμῶν;of you?
humonG4771 →2973 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἀπέκτεινανthey killed
apekteinanG615 →74 times
τοὺςthose
tousG3588 →19766 times
προκαταγγείλανταςhaving foretold
prokatangeilantasG4293 →
περὶabout
periG4012 →332 times
τῆςthe
tesG3588 →19766 times
ἐλεύσεωςcoming
eleuseosG1660 →
τοῦof the
touG3588 →19766 times
δικαίου,Righteous One,
dikaiouG1342 →79 times
οὗof whom
houG3739 →1405 times
νῦνnow
nunG3568 →145 times
ὑμεῖςyou yourselves
humeisG4771 →2973 times
προδόταιbetrayers
prodotaiG4273 →
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
φονεῖςmurderers
phoneisG5406 →7 times
ἐγένεσθε·have become;
egenestheG1096 →667 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Matthew 5:12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
it leads to
- Luke 6:23
Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.
- James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
- Colossians 3:24
because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
- 1 Peter 4:13
But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.
- Colossians 1:24
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.
- Luke 6:23
Through
1 Thessalonians 2:15who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
it leads to
- Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
- Luke 11:48–53
So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
- Matthew 5:12
Through
2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
They have lied about the LORD and said: “He will not do anything; harm will not come to us; we will not see sword or famine.
- Jeremiah 5:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies38
- Abraham
- Brit milah: circumcision on the eighth day
- Chaldea
- Circumcision of the Heart
- Egypt's Famine Years and the Land of Pharaoh
- Father, Forgive Them
Show the next 6 titles
Show the next 6 titles
- Types of Christ: Joseph and Joshua
- Joseph and the Tale of Two Brothers
- Joshua son of Nun
- Amos and the Courts at the Gate
- Love Your Enemies
- Mesopotamia
Show the next 6 titles
- Moses in the Bulrushes
- Mourning and Burial in Israel
- Outside the Camp
- Paul
- Prophet, Priest and King: The Threefold Office of Christ
- Scribes and the Sanhedrin
Show the next 6 titles
About Acts

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 9; 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); Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts.
