James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon
some who belonged to the church. 2
He had James, the brother of John, killed with
the sword. 3
After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded
to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened
Bread.) 4
When he had seized him, he put him in prison and
handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to
bring him out to the people after the Passover.
5 While Peter was
kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.
Peter Delivered from Prison
6 The very night
before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door
were keeping watch over the prison. 7
Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared
and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him,
saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
8 The angel said
to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he
said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
9 Petera
went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening
with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
10 After
they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the
iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord,
and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel
left him. 11
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure
that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod
and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12 As soon as he
realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose
other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying.
13 When he
knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.
14 On
recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening
the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.
15 They
said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was
so. They said, “It is his angel.” 16
Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and
when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.
17 He motioned to
them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had
brought him out of the prison. And he added, “Tell this to James and to
the believers.”b
Then he left and went to another place.
18 When morning
came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had
become of Peter. 19
When Herod had searched for him and could not find
him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he
went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
The Death of Herod
20 Now Herodc
was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a
body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked
for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s
country for food. 21
On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes,
took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them.
22 The
people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!”
23 And
immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the
Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word
of God continued to advance and gain adherents.
25 Then after
completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned tod
Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.
d
Other ancient
authorities read
from
The Holy Bible : New Revised
Standard Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989, S.
Ac 12:1-25