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12 And in the same time Herod the king sent power, to torment some men of the church.[a]

And he slew by sword James, the brother of John.

And he saw that it pleased to the Jews, and cast to take also Peter; and the days of therf loaves were.

And when he had caught Peter, he sent him into prison; and betook him to four quaternions of knights, to keep him, and would after pask bring him forth to the people [willing after pask to bring him forth to the people].

And Peter was kept in prison; but prayer was made of the church without ceasing to God for him.

But when Herod should bring him forth, in that night Peter was sleeping betwixt two knights, and was bound with two chains [in that night, Peter was sleeping between two knights, bound with two chains]; and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

And lo! an angel of the Lord stood nigh, and light shone in the prison house. And when he had smitten the side of Peter, he raised him, and said, Rise thou swiftly [And the side of Peter smitten, he raised, or waked, him, saying, Rise swiftly]. And at once [And anon] the chains felled down from his hands.

And the angel said to him, Gird thee, and do on thine hoses [and do on thy hoses]. And he did so. And he said to him, Do about thee thy clothes [Do about to thee thy cloth], and follow me.

And he went out, and followed him; and he wist not that it was sooth, that was done by the angel; for he guessed himself to have seen a vision.

10 And they passed the first and the second ward, and came to the iron gate that leadeth to the city, which at once was opened to them[b]. And they went out, and came [forth] into one street, and at once [and anon] the angel passed away from him.

11 And Peter turned again to himself, and said [And Peter turning again to himself, said], Now I know verily, that the Lord sent his angel, and delivered me from the hand of Herod, and from all the abiding of the people of Jews.

12 And he beheld, and came to the house of Mary [And he beholding, came to the house of Mary], the mother of John, that is named Mark, where many were gathered together, and praying.

13 And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel, Rhoda by name, came forth to see.

14 And when she knew the voice of Peter, for joy she opened not the gate, but ran in, and told, that Peter stood at the gate [that Peter stood before the gate].

15 And they said to her, Thou maddest [Thou maddest, or art mad]. But she affirmed, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel.

16 But Peter abode still, and knocked [Forsooth Peter lasted knocking]. And when they had opened the door, they saw him, and wondered.

17 And he beckoned to them with his hand to be still, and told how the Lord had led him out of the prison[c]. And he said, Tell ye to James and to the brethren these things. And he went out, and went into another place.

18 And when the day was come, there was not little troubling among the knights, what was done of Peter.

19 And when Herod had sought him, and found not, after that he had made inquiring of the keepers, he commanded them to be brought to him. And he came down from Judaea into Caesarea, and dwelled there.

20 And he was wroth to men of Tyre and of Sidon [of Tyre and Sidon]. And they of one accord came to him, when they had counseled with Blastus, that was the king's chamberlain, they asked peace, for as much as their countries were victualed of him [for that their countries were nourished by him].

21 And in a day that was ordained, Herod was clothed with king's clothing, and sat for doomsman, and spake to them. [Forsooth a day ordained, Herod clothed with king's clothing, sat for doomsman, and spake to them.]

22 And the people cried, The voice of God, and not of man.

23 And at once [Soothly anon] an angel of the Lord smote him, for he had not given honour to God; and he was wasted of worms, and died.

24 And the word of the Lord waxed, and was multiplied.

25 And Barnabas and Saul turned again from Jerusalem, when the ministry was filled [Forsooth Barnabas and Saul turned again from Jerusalem, the ministry fulfilled], and took John, that was named Mark.

Footnotes

  1. Acts 12:1 Forsooth in the same time, Herod the king sent hands, to torment some men of the church.
  2. Acts 12:10 the which willfully is opened to them/which at their own will was opened to them
  3. Acts 12:17 Soothly he beckoning to them with hand to be still, told them how the Lord had led him out of the prison

Herod Kills James and Imprisons Peter

12 Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them.[a] So he executed James the brother of John with a sword. And when he[b] saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (Now this was during the feast[c] of Unleavened Bread.) After he[d] had arrested him,[e] he also put him[f] in prison, handing him[g] over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out for public trial[h] after the Passover. Thus Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was fervently being made to God by the church for him.

Peter Rescued by an Angel

Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood near him,[i] and a light shone in the prison cell. And striking Peter’s side, he woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!”[j] And his chains fell off of his[k] hands. And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals!” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me!” And he went out and[l] was following him.[m] And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing a vision. 10 And after they[n] had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out and[o] went forward along one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him.

11 And when[p] Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and all that the Jewish people expected!”[q] 12 And when he[r] realized this,[s] he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (who is also called Mark), where many people were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when[t] he knocked at the door of the gateway, a female slave named[u] Rhoda came up to answer. 14 And recognizing Peter’s voice, because of her[v] joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and[w] announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting[x] it was so. And they kept saying,[y] “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter was continuing to knock, and when they[z] opened the door[aa] they saw him and were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his[ab] hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and to the brothers,” and he departed and[ac] went to another place.

18 Now when[ad] day came, there was not a little commotion among the soldiers as to what then had become of Peter. 19 And when[ae] Herod had searched for him and did not find him,[af] he questioned the guards and[ag] ordered that they be led away to execution. And he came down from Judea to Caesarea and[ah] stayed there.

Herod’s Gruesome Death

20 Now he was very angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. So they came to him with one purpose, and after[ai] persuading Blastus, the king’s chamberlain,[aj] they asked for peace, because their country was supported with food from the king’s country. 21 So on an appointed day Herod, after[ak] putting on royal clothing and sitting down on the judgment seat, began to deliver a public address to them. 22 But the people began to call out loudly,[al] “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because[am] he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and[an] died. 24 But the word of God kept on increasing[ao] and multiplying.

25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to[ap] Jerusalem when they[aq] had completed their[ar] service, having taken along with them[as] John (who is also called Mark).

Footnotes

  1. Acts 12:1 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  2. Acts 12:3 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
  3. Acts 12:3 Literally “now these were the days”
  4. Acts 12:4 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had arrested”) which is understood as temporal
  5. Acts 12:4 Literally “whom”
  6. Acts 12:4 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  7. Acts 12:4 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  8. Acts 12:4 Literally “to the people”
  9. Acts 12:7 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  10. Acts 12:7 Literally “with quickness”
  11. Acts 12:7 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  12. Acts 12:9 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
  13. Acts 12:9 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  14. Acts 12:10 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had passed”) which is understood as temporal
  15. Acts 12:10 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went out”) has been translated as a finite verb
  16. Acts 12:11 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“came”) which is understood as temporal
  17. Acts 12:11 Literally “the expectation of the people of the Jews”
  18. Acts 12:12 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“realized”) which is understood as temporal
  19. Acts 12:12 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  20. Acts 12:13 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“knocked”)
  21. Acts 12:13 Literally “by name”
  22. Acts 12:14 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  23. Acts 12:14 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“ran in”) has been translated as a finite verb
  24. Acts 12:15 This imperfect verb is translated as an iterative imperfect (“kept insisting”)
  25. Acts 12:15 *This imperfect verb is translated as an iterative imperfect (“kept saying”)
  26. Acts 12:16 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“opened”) which is understood as temporal
  27. Acts 12:16 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  28. Acts 12:17 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  29. Acts 12:17 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“departed”) has been translated as a finite verb
  30. Acts 12:18 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“came”)
  31. Acts 12:19 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had searched for”) which is understood as temporal
  32. Acts 12:19 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  33. Acts 12:19 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“questioned”) has been translated as a finite verb
  34. Acts 12:19 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came down”) has been translated as a finite verb
  35. Acts 12:20 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“persuading”) which is understood as temporal
  36. Acts 12:20 Literally “the one over the bedroom of the king”
  37. Acts 12:21 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“putting on”) which is understood as temporal
  38. Acts 12:22 *The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to call out loudly”)
  39. Acts 12:23 Literally “in return for which”
  40. Acts 12:23 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“was”) has been translated as a finite verb
  41. Acts 12:24 This imperfect verb has been translated as customary (“kept on increasing”)
  42. Acts 12:25 Some manuscripts read “from”
  43. Acts 12:25 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had completed”) which is understood as temporal
  44. Acts 12:25 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  45. Acts 12:25 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation