Acts

1And about that time, Herod the king put forth his hands, to do evil to certain of those of the assembly,

2and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword,

3and having seen that it is pleasing to the Jews, he added to lay hold of Peter also — and they were the days of the unleavened food —

4whom also having seized, he did put in prison, having delivered [him] to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people.

5Peter, therefore, indeed, was kept in the prison, and fervent prayer was being made by the assembly unto God for him,

6and when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night was Peter sleeping between two soldiers, having been bound with two chains, guards also before the door were keeping the prison,

7and lo, a messenger of the Lord stood by, and a light shone in the buildings, and having smitten Peter on the side, he raised him up, saying, 'Rise in haste,' and his chains fell from off [his] hands.

8The messenger also said to him, 'Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals;' and he did so; and he saith to him, 'Put thy garment round and be following me;'

9and having gone forth, he was following him, and he knew not that it is true that which is done through the messenger, and was thinking he saw a vision,

10and having passed through a first ward, and a second, they came unto the iron gate that is leading to the city, which of its own accord did open to them, and having gone forth, they went on through one street, and immediately the messenger departed from him.

11And Peter having come to himself, said, 'Now I have known of a truth that the Lord did sent forth His messenger, and did deliver me out of the hand of Herod, and all the expectation of the people of the Jews;'

12also, having considered, he came unto the house of Mary, the mother of John, who is surnamed Mark, where there were many thronged together and praying.

13And Peter having knocked at the door of the porch, there came a damsel to hearken, by name Rhoda,

14and having known the voice of Peter, from the joy she did not open the porch, but having run in, told of the standing of Peter before the porch,

15and they said unto her, 'Thou art mad;' and she was confidently affirming [it] to be so, and they said, 'It is his messenger;'

16and Peter was continuing knocking, and having opened, they saw him, and were astonished,

17and having beckoned to them with the hand to be silent, he declared to them how the Lord brought him out of the prison, and he said, 'Declare to James and to the brethren these things;' and having gone forth, he went on to another place.

18And day having come, there was not a little stir among the soldiers what then was become of Peter,

19and Herod having sought for him, and not having found, having examined the guards, did command [them] to be led away to punishment, and having gone down from Judea to Caesarea, he was abiding [there].

20And Herod was highly displeased with the Tyrians and Sidonians, and with one accord they came unto him, and having made a friend of Blastus, who [is] over the bed-chambers of the king, they were asking peace, because of their country being nourished from the king's;

21and on a set day, Herod having arrayed himself in kingly apparel, and having sat down upon the tribunal, was making an oration unto them,

22and the populace were shouting, 'The voice of a god, and not of a man;'

23and presently there smote him a messenger of the Lord, because he did not give the glory to God, and having been eaten of worms, he expired.

24And the word of God did grow and did multiply,

25and Barnabas and Saul did turn back out of Jerusalem, having fulfilled the ministration, having taken also with [them] John, who was surnamed Mark.

James Killed, Peter Imprisoned

1About that time, King Herodreached out to harmsome who belonged to the church.

2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

3And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

4He 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.

The Rescue of Peter

5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

6On 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.

7Suddenly 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.

8“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.”

9So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.

10They 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.

11Then 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.”

12And 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.

13He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.

14When 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!”

15“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.

17Peter 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.

18At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

19After 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.

The Death of Herod

20Now Herod was in a furious disputewith 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.

21On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.

22And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”

23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

24But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

25When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,bringing with them John, also called Mark.