Atos 12

¹ Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to oppress some from the church.

² And he killed Jacob the brother of John with the sword.

³ And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. (And it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.)

⁴ So when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after Passover.

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

⁶ And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

⁷ And behold, the Angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise quickly! And his chains fell off his hands.

⁸ Then the Angel said to him, Gird yourself and bind on your sandals; and he did so. And He said to him, Throw around your garment and follow Me.

⁹ So he went out and followed Him, and did not know that what was done through the Angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the Angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His Angel, and has rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.

¹² So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to listen.

¹⁴ And when she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate.

¹⁵ But they said to her, You are beside yourself. Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, It is his angel.

¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

¹⁷ But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go, tell these things to Jacob and to the brethren. And he departed and went to another place.

¹⁸ Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

¹⁹ And when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be led away to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

²⁰ Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.

²¹ So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his platform and gave an oration to them.

²² And the people kept shouting, The voice of a god and not of a man!

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

²⁴ But the Word of God grew and increased.

²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their service, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.