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. ¹⁹ And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ^(AA)ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

The Death of Herod

²⁰ Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and ^(AB)having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain,^[b] they asked for peace, because ^(AC)their country depended on the king's country for food. ²¹ On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. ²² And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” ²³ Immediately ^(AD)an angel of the Lord struck him down, because ^(AE)he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

²⁴ But ^(AF)the word of God increased and multiplied.

^25 (A)And Barnabas and Saul returned from^[a] Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them ^(B)John, whose other name was Mark.

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^(C)prophets and ^(D)teachers, ^(E)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,^[b] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of ^(F)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, ^(G)the Holy Spirit said, ^(H)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^(I)for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and ^(J)praying they laid their hands on them and ^(K)sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out ^(L)by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^(M)in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^(N)John to ^(O)assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^(P)magician, ^(Q)a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with ^(R)the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(S)magician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^(T)opposed them, seeking to turn ^(U)the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^(V)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You ^(W)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^(X)villainy, will you not stop ^(Y)making crooked ^(Z)the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, ^(AA)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^(AB)people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^(AC)the teaching of the Lord.