Act 12 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church , to do them harm .

Acts 12

Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance

1 Now about that time ^{▼▼I.e., Herod Agrippa I}Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm. 2 And he ^bhad James the brother of John ^cexecuted with a sword. 3 When he saw that it ^dpleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. (Now these were ^{▼▼I.e., Passover week
,} ^fthe days of Unleavened Bread.) 4 When he had arrested him, he put him in prison, turning him over to four ^{▼▼Lit quaternions; a quaternion was composed of four soldiers
,} ^hsquads of soldiers to guard him, intending only after ⁱthe Passover to bring him before the people. 5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made to God ^{▼▼Or constantly}intensely by the church.

6 On ^{▼▼Lit that night}the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^lbound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. 7 And behold, ^man angel of the Lord suddenly ⁿstood near Peter, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^ohis chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Put on your belt and ^{▼▼Lit bind}strap 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 continued to follow, and yet he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^qa vision. 10 Now when they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which ^ropened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 When Peter ^scame ^{▼▼Lit in himself}to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that ^uthe Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all ^{▼▼Lit the expectation of the people of the Jews}that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of ^wJohn, who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and ^xwere praying. 13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, ^ya slave woman named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, ^zbecause of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They said, “It is ^aahis angel.” 16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But ^abmotioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^{▼▼Or Jacob
,} ^adJames and ^aethe brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.

18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to ^{▼▼Lit what therefore had become}what could have become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they ^agbe led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^ahCaesarea and was spending time there.

Death of Herod

20 Now he was very angry with the people of ^aiTyre and Sidon; and with one mind they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because ^ajtheir country was supported with grain from the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day, after putting on his royal apparel, Herod took his seat on the ^{▼▼Or judgment seat}rostrum and began delivering an address to them. 22 The people repeatedly cried out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And immediately ^alan angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and ^{▼▼Lit expired}died.

24 But ^anthe word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

25 And ^aoBarnabas and ^apSaul returned ^aqwhen they had fulfilled their ^{▼▼Lit ministry}mission to Jerusalem, taking along with them ^asJohn, who was also called Mark.