For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us' - the false accusation becomes more specific: Stephen allegedly said Jesus will 'destroy this place' (katalysē ton topon touton) and 'change the customs' (metasin ta ethe ha dōken hēmin Mōysēs). The charge of institutional and cultural subversion is the most serious—Stephen threatens the very foundations of Jewish identity. The irony is that Stephen's later speech will address exactly these themes from within Scripture itself.

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