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Now on [a]the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, (A)bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, (B)an angel of the Lord suddenly (C)appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Rise up quickly.” And (D)his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and [b]put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your garment around yourself and follow me.” And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking he was seeing (E)a vision. 10 And when they had passed the first and second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which (F)opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter (G)came [c]to himself, he said, “Now truly I know that (H)the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all [d]that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of (I)John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and (J)were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gate, (K)a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 And when she recognized Peter’s voice, (L)because of her joy she did not open the gate. But she ran in and reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 And they said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is (M)his angel.” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door, they saw him and were astounded. 17 But (N)motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he recounted to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to (O)James and (P)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 what [e]had become of Peter. 19 And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they (Q)be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to (R)Caesarea and was spending time there.

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Footnotes

  1. Acts 12:6 Lit that night
  2. Acts 12:8 Lit bind
  3. Acts 12:11 Lit in himself
  4. Acts 12:11 Lit the expectation of the people of the Jews
  5. Acts 12:18 Lit therefore had become

The night before Herod was going to bring Peter’s case forward, Peter was asleep between two soldiers and bound with two chains, with soldiers guarding the prison entrance. Suddenly an angel from the Lord appeared and a light shone in the prison cell. After nudging Peter on his side to awaken him, the angel raised him up and said, “Quick! Get up!” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel continued, “Get dressed. Put on your sandals.” Peter did as he was told. The angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” Following the angel, Peter left the prison. However, he didn’t realize the angel had actually done all this. He thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. After leaving the prison, they proceeded the length of one street, when abruptly the angel was gone.

11 At that, Peter came to his senses and remarked, “Now I’m certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod and from everything the Jewish people expected.” 12 Realizing this, he made his way to Mary’s house. (Mary was John’s mother; he was also known as Mark.) Many believers had gathered there and were praying. 13 When Peter knocked at the outer gate, a female servant named Rhoda went to answer. 14 She was so overcome with joy when she recognized Peter’s voice that she didn’t open the gate. Instead, she ran back in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

15 “You’ve lost your mind!” they responded. She stuck by her story with such determination that they began to say, “It must be his guardian angel.” 16 Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate. They finally opened the gate and saw him there, and they were astounded.

17 He gestured with his hand to quiet them down, then recounted how the Lord led him out of prison. He said, “Tell this to James and the brothers and sisters.” Then he left for another place.

18 The next morning the soldiers were flustered about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod called for a thorough search. When Peter didn’t turn up, Herod interrogated the guards and had them executed. Afterward, Herod left Judea in order to spend some time in Caesarea.

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