Acts 7:57

At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Stephen speaks to the Jewish council at the climax of his defense, immediately after declaring his vision of the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand. The crowd’s reaction marks the violent turning point from judicial hearing to mob execution.

The words — συνέσχον (suneschon) means they held or closed, and ὦτα (ōta) means ears, describing the physical act of shutting out his testimony. κράξαντες (kraxantes) translates as having cried out, indicating their loud vocal protest before the attack.

The thread — This deliberate deafness echoes Zechariah 7:11, where the ancestors refused to pay attention and stopped up their ears, and Psalms 58:4, which compares the wicked to a cobra that shuts its ears.

Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that hearing God’s witness requires receptive obedience, and that willful rejection of revelation inevitably produces violent opposition.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

κράξαντεςkraxantesHaving cried out δὲdethen φωνῇphōnēain a voice μεγάλῃmegalēloud συνέσχονsuneschonthey held τὰtathe ὦταōtaears αὐτῶνautōnof them καὶkaiand ὥρμησανhōrmēsanrushed ὁμοθυμαδὸνhomothumadonwith one accord ἐπ᾽ep᾽upon αὐτόν·autonhim;

King James Version

Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

Cross-references

Zechariah 7:11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
Psalms 58:4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like a cobra that shuts its ears,
Acts 23:27 This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen,
Proverbs 21:13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.
Acts 7:54 On hearing this, the members of the Sanhedrin were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.
Acts 21:27 When the seven days were almost over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,