Top of Page
Page Style
that time King Herod cruelly attacked some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, Herod put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying earnestly to God for him.
6 On the very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side to wake him, and said to him, “Get up quickly.” Then the chains fell off his wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And Peter did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you, and follow me.” 9 So Peter went out and followed him, but he didn’t think that what was taking place with the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had passed the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city. It opened to them by itself, and they went outside. When they had walked some distance down a street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and delivered me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating.”
12 When he realised this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 He knocked at the door of the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.
15 “You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But when she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel!”
16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned to them with his hand to be quiet, and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. Then he said, “Go and tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place.
18 At daybreak, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had made a thorough search for him and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered that they be put to death.
Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 Herod had been very displeased with the people of Tyre and Sidon, so they came together to meet with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country.
21 So on an appointed day Herod, dressed in royal robes and seated on his throne, made a public speech to them. 22 The people began shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God flourished and spread rapidly.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had completed their mission, they returned to Jerusalem, bringing with them John Mark.