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Acts 12
New International Version
Acts 12
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. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.(W)
Herod’s Death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea(X) and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon;(Y) they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.(Z)
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel(AA) of the Lord struck him down,(AB) and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God(AC) continued to spread and flourish.(AD)
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
25 When Barnabas(AE) and Saul had finished their mission,(AF) they returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.(AG)
Footnotes
- Acts 12:25 Some manuscripts to
Acts 12
New American Standard Bible
Acts 12
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. 19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they (W)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to (X)Caesarea and was spending time there.
Death of Herod
20 Now he was very angry with the people of (Y)Tyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because (Z)their country was supported with grain from the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the [k]rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately (AA)an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and [l]died.
24 But (AB)the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
25 And (AC)Barnabas and (AD)Saul returned (AE)when they had fulfilled their [m]mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them (AF)John, who was also called Mark.
Footnotes
- 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 12:21 Or judgment seat
- Acts 12:23 Lit expired
- Acts 12:25 Lit ministry
Acts 12
EasyEnglish Bible
Acts 12
EasyEnglish Bible
King Herod puts Peter in prison
12 At that time, King Herod took hold of some of the group of believers in Jerusalem. He wanted to cause them to suffer. 2 He sent his soldiers to cut off James's head. James was John's brother.[a]
3 King Herod saw that the Jews were happy because he had killed James. So he sent his soldiers to take hold of Peter too. This happened during the Festival of Flat Bread.[b]
4 After the soldiers caught Peter, they put him in prison. While he was in prison, four different groups of soldiers guarded him. There were four soldiers in each group.[c] Herod wanted to judge Peter in front of everybody. After the Passover festival had finished, he would bring Peter out of the prison to do this.
5 So Herod kept Peter in prison. But during that time, the group of believers prayed that God would help Peter.
Peter walks out of the prison
6 It was the night before King Herod wanted to bring Peter out of the prison and judge him. The soldiers had tied Peter to themselves with chains. So Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Some other soldiers were guarding the doors of the prison. 7 Then, an angel from the Lord God suddenly appeared in the prison. A bright light shone in the room where Peter was sleeping. The angel touched Peter's shoulder so that Peter woke up. He said to Peter, ‘Hurry! Stand up!’ Immediately the chains fell off Peter's hands.
8 Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and your shoes.’ Peter did what the angel told him to do. Then the angel said, ‘Now put on your coat and follow me.’ 9 So Peter followed the angel out of the prison. He was not sure that all these things were really happening to him. He thought that he might be dreaming. 10 Peter and the angel walked past the first group of soldiers in the prison. Then they walked past the second group of soldiers. After that, they came to the big metal gate in the wall of the prison. The city was outside this gate. The gate opened by itself in front of them. So Peter and the angel went out of the prison through the gate. They walked together along one street and then, suddenly, the angel went away.
11 Then Peter understood what had happened. He said to himself, ‘Now I know that these things really have happened to me. The Lord God sent one of his angels to rescue me from Herod's power. The Jewish leaders wanted Herod to cause me to suffer. But God has saved me from those bad things.’
12 When Peter realized what God had done for him, he went to Mary's house. She was the mother of John Mark. Many people were meeting together in her house. They were praying to God.[d]
13 Peter knocked on the outside door of the house. A servant girl called Rhoda came to the door. 14 She recognized Peter's voice and she was very happy. But she did not open the door. Instead, she ran back into the house and she said to all the people there, ‘Peter is standing outside the door!’
15 The people in the house said to her, ‘You are crazy.’ But she told them again that Peter really was there. So then they said, ‘It is not him, but it is his angel.’[e]
16 While all this was happening, Peter was still knocking at the door. Then someone went and opened the door. They were all very surprised when they saw him there. 17 Peter raised his hand towards them so that they would all be quiet. Then he explained to them how the Lord God had brought him out of the prison. He said to them, ‘Tell James and all the other believers what has happened to me.’[f] Then he left the house and he went away to another place.
18 When morning arrived, there was a lot of trouble at the prison. The soldiers did not understand what had happened to Peter. 19 When Herod knew about it, he said to the soldiers, ‘Go and look for Peter!’ But they could not find him anywhere. Herod then asked the soldiers who guarded the prison some questions. They could not explain what had happened. So Herod commanded other soldiers to cut off their heads.
After this happened, Herod left Judea. He went to Caesarea and he stayed there for some time.
King Herod dies
20 At that time, King Herod was angry with the people who lived in Tyre and Sidon. A group of men from these cities went together to speak to Herod about the problem. A man called Blastus was an important servant in King Herod's house. The group of men said to Blastus, ‘Please help us when we speak to King Herod.’ Then they went and they said to Herod, ‘Please stop being angry with our people. We want to be friends again.’ They said this because they needed to buy food in King Herod's country.[g]
21 Herod decided on which day he would meet with them. He put on his beautiful clothes and he sat in his special seat as king. Then he spoke his message to all the people. 22 When he spoke, the people shouted, ‘This is not a man who is speaking to us. This is the voice of a god!’
23 Herod let the people praise him, instead of God. So, immediately, an angel of the Lord God caused him to become very ill. Worms ate his body and later he died.
Barnabas and Saul return to Antioch
24 Everywhere that the believers went, they told people God's message. People heard the message in more and more places and many of them believed in Jesus.
25 Barnabas and Saul had gone to Jerusalem to help the believers there. They finished their work and then they returned to Antioch. They took John Mark with them.
Footnotes
- 12:2 James and John were sons of Zebedee. King Herod killed James about 10 years after Jesus became alive again.
- 12:3 The Jews usually made bread with yeast, flour and water. But during the week of the Passover festival they did not use any yeast in their bread.
- 12:4 Each group of soldiers guarded the prison for four hours. When one group stopped the next group started. They did this day and night.
- 12:12 It is possible that John Mark wrote Mark's book about Jesus. Mary was the aunt of Barnabas.
- 12:15 At that time, some people believed that everyone had an angel. These angels kept them safe.
- 12:17 This is a different man called James than the man that Herod killed.
- 12:20 The Romans ruled Tyre and Sidon. These were not Jewish cities. And the people did not want Herod to rule them. But they bought their food from Galilee. And the problem was that Herod ruled in Galilee.
Hechos 12
Palabra de Dios para Todos
Hechos 12
Palabra de Dios para Todos
Herodes persigue a los creyentes
12 Por esa misma época, el rey Herodes empezó a perseguir a algunos de la iglesia. 2 Ordenó que mataran a espada a Santiago, el hermano de Juan. 3 Al ver que esto les había gustado a los judíos, Herodes decidió arrestar también a Pedro. Esto pasó durante la fiesta de los Panes sin Levadura. 4 Después de arrestarlo, lo metió en la cárcel custodiado por 16 soldados. Herodes quería esperar hasta después de la Pascua, y luego iba a traerlo ante el pueblo para hacerle un juicio. 5 Mientras Pedro permanecía preso, la iglesia oraba constantemente a Dios por él.
Un ángel libera a Pedro
6 Pedro estaba atado con dos cadenas y dormía en medio de dos soldados. Había más soldados cuidando la puerta de la cárcel. Era de noche y Herodes había planeado llevar a Pedro ante el pueblo al día siguiente. 7 De pronto, apareció un ángel del Señor. Una luz brilló en la celda, el ángel tocó a Pedro en el costado, lo despertó y le dijo: «¡Levántate rápido!» Entonces las cadenas se cayeron de las manos de Pedro. 8 Luego, el ángel le dijo: «Vístete y ponte las sandalias». Pedro lo hizo y entonces el ángel le dijo: «Ponte la capa y sígueme».
9 El ángel salió y Pedro fue tras él, sin saber si eso estaba pasando en realidad o si era una visión. 10 Pedro y el ángel pasaron la primera guardia, luego la segunda y llegaron a la puerta de acero que los separaba de la ciudad. La puerta se abrió sola, Pedro y el ángel salieron, caminaron más o menos una cuadra y de repente el ángel desapareció. 11 Pedro entendió lo que había pasado y pensó: «Ahora sé que el Señor me envió de verdad a su ángel. Él me salvó de Herodes. El pueblo judío pensó que me iba a ir mal, pero el Señor me salvó».
12 Cuando Pedro se dio cuenta de esas cosas, se fue a casa de María, la mamá de Juan, al que también llamaban Marcos. Muchos estaban reunidos allí, orando. 13 Pedro llamó a la puerta de afuera, y una sierva llamada Rode salió a ver quién era. 14 Ella reconoció la voz de Pedro y se puso tan contenta que se le olvidó abrir la puerta. Corrió adentro y les dijo a todos los que estaban allí:
—¡Pedro está en la puerta!
15 Ellos le dijeron a Rode:
—¡Estás loca!
Pero ella siguió diciendo que era verdad, así que ellos dijeron:
—Debe ser el ángel de Pedro.
16 Pero Pedro seguía llamando a la puerta. Cuando fueron a abrir la puerta y lo vieron, quedaron atónitos. 17 Él les indicó que se callaran y luego les explicó a todos cómo el Señor lo había sacado de la cárcel. Les dijo:
—Vayan a contarles a Santiago y a los demás hermanos todo lo que pasó.
Entonces Pedro se fue a otro lugar.
18 Al amanecer, hubo bastante agitación entre los soldados porque no sabían qué había pasado con Pedro. 19 Herodes ordenó buscar a Pedro por todas partes, pero no lo encontró. Interrogó a los guardias y luego ordenó que los mataran.
La muerte de Herodes
Después, Herodes salió de Judea a la ciudad de Cesarea y permaneció allí por algún tiempo. 20 Estaba muy enojado con los habitantes de Tiro y Sidón. Ellos acordaron ir a hablar con Herodes y sobornaron a Blasto, el funcionario principal del rey. Trataban de hacer las paces porque su territorio era abastecido por el del rey.
21 Un día acordado, Herodes decidió reunirse con ellos. Se puso su vestido real, se sentó en su trono y dio un discurso al pueblo. 22 El pueblo gritaba: «¡El que habla es un dios, no un ser humano!» 23 Herodes no dio honra a Dios. Por eso un ángel del Señor de inmediato hizo que se enfermara y murió devorado por los gusanos.
24 El mensaje de Dios se difundió y cada vez llegaba a más gente.
25 Bernabé y Saulo volvieron a Antioquía después de terminar su trabajo, y Juan Marcos los acompañaba.
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New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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Palabra de Dios para Todos (PDT)
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