Acts 12

¹Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church.

²And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread.

⁴And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

⁵Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him.

⁶And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison.

⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell: and he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

⁸And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And he did so. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

⁹And he went out, and followed; and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision.

¹⁰And when they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of its own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and straightway the angel departed from him.

¹¹And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

¹²And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together and were praying.

¹³And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rhoda.

¹⁴And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but ran in, and told that Peter stood before the gate.

¹⁵And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she confidently affirmed that it was even so. And they said, It is his angel.

¹⁶But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.

¹⁷But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison. And he said, Tell these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went to another place.

¹⁸Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.

¹⁹And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judæa to Cæsarea, and tarried there.

²⁰Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: and they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king’s country.

²¹And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them.

²²And the people shouted, saying, The voice of a god, and not of a man.

²³And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

²⁴But the word of God grew and multiplied.

²⁵And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministration, taking with them John whose surname was Mark.

Acts 12

¹About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.

²He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

³And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

⁴He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

⁶On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.

⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

⁸“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

⁹So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.

¹⁰They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.

¹¹Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”

¹²And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

¹³He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.

¹⁴When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”

¹⁵“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.

¹⁷Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.

¹⁸At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

¹⁹After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.

²⁰Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

²¹On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.

²²And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”

²³Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

²⁵When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.