{"book":"Acts","slug":"acts","ch":12,"genre":"prose","sub":"The Acts of the Apostles","prev":"acts/11","next":"acts/13","verses":[{"v":1,"t":"About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.","f":["That is, King Herod Agrippa","Literally put forth the hands to mistreat"],"h":"James Killed, Peter Imprisoned","style":"reg"},{"v":2,"t":"{He had} James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.","f":[]},{"v":3,"t":"And seeing that [this] pleased the Jews, [Herod] proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened [Bread].","f":["Literally seize Peter—now these were the days of the Unleavened; see Exodus 12:14–20."],"style":"reg"},{"v":4,"t":"He arrested [him] and put [him] in prison, handing [him] over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers [each]. [Herod] intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.","f":[]},{"v":5,"t":"So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.","f":[],"h":"The Rescue of Peter","style":"reg"},{"v":6,"t":"On [the] night [before] Herod was to bring him [to trial], Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":7,"t":"Suddenly an angel of [the] Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side [and] woke him up, saying,“ Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off [his] wrists.","f":[]},{"v":8,"t":"“ Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and [the angel] told him,“ Wrap your cloak {around you} and follow me.”","f":[]},{"v":9,"t":"[So] [Peter] followed him out, [but] he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":10,"t":"They passed [the] first and second guards [and] came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. [When] they had gone outside [and] walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.","f":[]},{"v":11,"t":"Then Peter came to himself [and] said,“ Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and [from] everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":12,"t":"And [when] he had realized [this], he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, [also] called Mark, where many [people] had gathered together and were praying.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":13,"t":"He knocked [at] the outer gate, [and] a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer [it].","f":[]},{"v":14,"t":"When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed [that] she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside [and] announced,“ Peter is standing at the gate!”","f":[]},{"v":15,"t":"“ You are out of your mind,” they told her. But [when] she kept insisting [it] was so, they said,“ It must be his angel.”","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":16,"t":"But Peter kept on knocking, and [when] they opened [the door] [and] saw him, they were astounded.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":17,"t":"[Peter] motioned with [his] hand for silence, [and] he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.“ Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.","f":[]},{"v":18,"t":"At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become [of] Peter.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":19,"t":"[After] Herod had searched for him [unsuccessfully], he examined the guards [and] ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea [and] spent some time [there].","f":[]},{"v":20,"t":"Now [Herod] was in a furious dispute [with the] people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s [country] for food.","f":["Or had become furious"],"h":"The Death of Herod","style":"reg"},{"v":21,"t":"On the appointed day, Herod donned [his] royal [robes], sat on [his] throne, [and] addressed [the people].","f":[]},{"v":22,"t":"And [they] began to shout,“ [This is the] voice of a god, not a man!”","f":[]},{"v":23,"t":"Immediately, because [Herod] did not give glory to God, an angel of [the] Lord struck him {down}, and he was eaten by worms [and] died.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":24,"t":"But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.","f":[],"style":"reg"},{"v":25,"t":"[When] Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled [their] mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with [them] John, [also] called Mark.","f":["Or had fulfilled their mission, they returned to Jerusalem; NE and TR had fulfilled their mission, they returned from Jerusalem"],"style":"reg"}]}