Acts 12
12
James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
1About that time King Herod extended his hands to harm certain ones from the church. 2#Mt 20:23; Heb 11:37He killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3#Ex 23:15; Ac 24:27Seeing that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to arrest Peter also. This happened during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4#Lk 21:12When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him before the people after the Passover.
5#2Co 1:11So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed to God without ceasing for him.
Peter Delivered From Prison
6#Ac 21:33The very night when Herod would have brought him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. And the guards before the door were securing the prison. 7#Ac 16:26; 5:19And suddenly an angel of the Lord approached him, and a light shone in the prison. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Rise up, quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.
8Then the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put your sandals on.” And he did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9#Ps 126:1He went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10#Ac 5:19; 16:26When they had passed the first and the second guards, they came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened to them by itself. And they went out and went forward one street. And immediately the angel left him.
11#Da 3:28; 6:22When Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I certainly know that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12#Ac 12:5; 12:25Realizing this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13As Peter knocked at the door of the porch, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14#Lk 24:41When she recognized Peter’s voice, from joy she did not open the door, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the door.
15#Mt 18:10They said to her, “You are insane.” But she insisted that it was really so. So they said, “It is his angel.”
16But Peter continued knocking. And when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17#Ac 13:16; 15:13Motioning to them with his hand to be quiet, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.
18Now when day came, there was a great disturbance among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19#Ac 16:27When Herod had searched for him and did not find him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.
Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
The Death of Herod
20#Eze 27:17; Ezr 3:7Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But they came to him in unity, and having made Blastus, the king’s personal servant, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country.
21On an appointed day, Herod, dressed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave a public speech to them. 22The mob shouted, “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23#1Sa 25:38; 2Sa 24:16–17Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms and died.
24#Ac 6:7; 19:20But the word of God spread and increased.
25#Ac 12:12; 4:36When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their ministry, they returned from Jerusalem and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
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Acts 12: MEV
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Military Bible Association
Acts 12
12
Herod Causes Trouble for the Church
1At that time King Herod#12.1 Herod: Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great. caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. 2He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. 3#Ex 12.1-27. When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested during the Festival of Thin Bread. 4He put Peter in jail and ordered four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after the festival.
5While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him.
Peter Is Rescued
6The night before Peter was to be put on trial, he was asleep and bound by two chains. A soldier was guarding him on each side, and two other soldiers were guarding the entrance to the jail. 7Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared, and light flashed around in the cell. The angel poked Peter in the side and woke him up. Then he said, “Quick! Get up!”
The chains fell off his hands, 8and the angel said, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” Peter did what he was told. Then the angel said, “Now put on your coat and follow me.” 9Peter left with the angel, but he thought everything was only a dream. 10They went past the two groups of soldiers, and when they came to the iron gate to the city, it opened by itself. They went out and were going along the street, when all at once the angel disappeared.
11Peter now realized what had happened, and he said, “I am certain that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod and from everything the Jewish leaders planned to do to me.” 12Then Peter went to the house of Mary the mother of John whose other name was Mark. Many of the Lord's followers had come together there and were praying.
13Peter knocked on the gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14When she heard Peter's voice, she was too excited to open the gate. She ran back into the house and said Peter was standing there.
15“You are crazy!” everyone told her. But she kept saying it was Peter. Then they said, “It must be his angel.”#12.15 his angel: Probably meaning “his guardian angel.” 16But Peter kept on knocking, until finally they opened the gate. They saw him and were completely amazed.
17Peter motioned for them to keep quiet. Then he told how the Lord had led him out of jail. He also said, “Tell James#12.17 James: The brother of the Lord. and the others what has happened.” After that, he left and went somewhere else.
18The next morning the soldiers who had been on guard were terribly worried and wondered what had happened to Peter. 19Herod ordered his own soldiers to search for him, but they could not find him. Then he questioned the guards and had them put to death. After this, Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.
Herod Dies
20 #
2 Macc 9.5-28. Herod and the people of Tyre and Sidon were very angry with each other. But their country got its food supply from the region that he ruled. So a group of them went to see Blastus, who was one of Herod's high officials. They convinced Blastus that they wanted to make peace between their cities and Herod, 21and a day was set for them to meet with him.
Herod came dressed in his royal robes. He sat down on his throne and made a speech. 22The people shouted, “You speak more like a god than a man!” 23At once an angel from the Lord struck him down because he took the honor that belonged to God. Later, Herod was eaten by worms and died.
24God's message kept spreading. 25And after Barnabas and Saul had done the work they were sent to do, they went back to Jerusalem#12.25 went back to Jerusalem: Some manuscripts have “left Jerusalem,” and others have “went to Antioch.” with John, whose other name was Mark.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.