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Acts 12:1-18
New American Standard Bible
Acts 12:1-18
New American Standard Bible
Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance
12 Now about that time [a]Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. 2 And he (A)had James the brother of John (B)executed with a sword. 3 When he saw that it (C)pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were [b](D)the days of Unleavened Bread.) 4 When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four [c](E)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after (F)the Passover to bring him before the people. 5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God [d]intensely by the church.
6 On [e]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (G)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, (H)an angel of the Lord suddenly (I)stood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And (J)his chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and [f]strap on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing (K)a vision. 10 Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which (L)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter (M)came [g]to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that (N)the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all [h]that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of (O)John, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and (P)were praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, (Q)a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, (R)because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is (S)his angel.” 16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But (T)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to [i](U)James and (V)the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to [j]what could have become of Peter.
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- Acts 12:1 I.e., Herod Agrippa I
- Acts 12:3 I.e., Passover week
- Acts 12:4 Lit quaternions; a quaternion was composed of four soldiers
- Acts 12:5 Or constantly
- Acts 12:6 Lit that night
- Acts 12:8 Lit bind
- Acts 12:11 Lit in himself
- Acts 12:11 Lit the expectation of the people of the Jews
- Acts 12:17 Or Jacob
- Acts 12:18 Lit what therefore had become
Acts 12:1-18
New International Version
Acts 12:1-18
New International Version
Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison
12 It was about this time that King Herod(A) arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John,(B) put to death with the sword.(C) 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews,(D) he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread.(E) 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.(F)
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.(G)
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains,(H) and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel(I) of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.(J)
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.(K) 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself,(L) and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself(M) and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me(N) from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark,(O) where many people had gathered and were praying.(P) 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.(Q) 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed(R) she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”(S)
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand(T) for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James(U) and the other brothers and sisters(V) about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
Acts 12:1-18
King James Version
Acts 12:1-18
King James Version
12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And 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 praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
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Acts 12:1-18
English Standard Version
Acts 12:1-18
English Standard Version
James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
12 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed (A)James the brother of John (B)with the sword, 3 and when he saw (C)that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during (D)the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him (E)in prison, delivering him over to four (F)squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest (G)prayer for him was made to God by the church.
Peter Is Rescued
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (H)bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, (I)an angel of the Lord (J)stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. (K)He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And (L)the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and (M)put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but (N)thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. (O)It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter (P)came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that (Q)the Lord has sent his angel and (R)rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of (S)John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and (T)were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, (U)a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, (V)in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is (W)his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But (X)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to (Y)James and to (Z)the brothers.”[a] Then he departed and went to another place.
18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.
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- Acts 12:17 Or brothers and sisters
Acts 12:1-18
Contemporary English Version
Acts 12:1-18
Contemporary English Version
Herod Causes Trouble for the Church
12 At that time King Herod[a] caused terrible suffering for some members of the church. 2 He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John. 3 (A) When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he had Peter arrested during the Festival of Thin Bread. 4 He 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.
5 While Peter was being kept in jail, the church never stopped praying to God for him.
Peter Is Rescued
6 The 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. 7 Suddenly 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, 8 and 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.” 9 Peter left with the angel, but he thought everything was only a dream. 10 They 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.
11 Peter 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.” 12 Then 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.
13 Peter knocked on the gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When 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.”[b] 16 But Peter kept on knocking, until finally they opened the gate. They saw him and were completely amazed.
17 Peter motioned for them to keep quiet. Then he told how the Lord had led him out of jail. He also said, “Tell James[c] and the others what has happened.” After that, he left and went somewhere else.
18 The next morning the soldiers who had been on guard were terribly worried and wondered what had happened to Peter.
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New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.