Psa 107:10, 14, 146:7, Isa 61:1, Act 12:6-25 | ESV | STEP | Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death , prisoners in affliction and in irons ,

Psalms 107:10

10 ^aSome sat in darkness and in ^bthe shadow of death,
prisoners in ^caffliction and in irons,

Psalms 107:14

14 He brought them out of ^ddarkness and the shadow of death,
and ^eburst their bonds apart.

Psalms 146:7

7 ^fwho executes justice for the oppressed,
^gwho gives food to the hungry.
^hThe Lord sets the prisoners free;

Isaiah 61:1

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

1 ⁱThe Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has ^janointed me
to bring good news to the poor; ^{▼▼Or afflicted}
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and ^lthe opening of the prison to those who are bound; ^{▼▼Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind}

Acts 12:6-25

Peter Is Rescued

6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ⁿbound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, ^oan angel of the Lord ^pstood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. ^qHe struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And ^rthe chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and ^sput 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 ^tthought 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. ^uIt 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 ^vcame to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that ^wthe Lord has sent his angel and ^xrescued 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 ^yJohn whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and ^zwere praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, ^aaa servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, ^abin 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 ^achis angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But ^admotioning 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 ^aeJames and to ^afthe brothers.” ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters} 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 ^ahordered 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 ^aihaving persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, ^{▼▼That is, trusted personal attendant} they asked for peace, because ^aktheir 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 ^alan angel of the Lord struck him down, because ^amhe did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

24 But ^anthe word of God increased and multiplied.

25 ^aoAnd Barnabas and Saul returned from ^{▼▼Some manuscripts to} Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them ^aqJohn, whose other name was Mark.