Acts of the Apostles 12

¹ It was about this time that King Herod started persecuting certain members of the Church.

² He beheaded James the brother of John,

³ and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he decided to arrest Peter as well.

⁴ This was during the days of Unleavened Bread, and he put Peter in prison, assigning four squads of four soldiers each to guard him in turns. Herod meant to try Peter in public after the end of Passover week.

⁵ All the time Peter was under guard the Church prayed to God for him unremittingly.

⁶ On the night before Herod was to try him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, fastened with double chains, while guards kept watch at the main entrance to the prison.

⁷ Then suddenly the angel of the Lord stood there, and the cell was filled with light. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him. ‘Get up!’ he said ‘Hurry!’ – and the chains fell from his hands.

⁸ The angel then said, ‘Put on your belt and sandals’. After he had done this, the angel next said, ‘Wrap your cloak round you and follow me’.

⁹ Peter followed him, but had no idea that what the angel did was all happening in reality; he thought he was seeing a vision.

¹⁰ They passed through two guard posts one after the other, and reached the iron gate leading to the city. This opened of its own accord; they went through it and had walked the whole length of one street when suddenly the angel left him.

¹¹ It was only then that Peter came to himself. ‘Now I know it is all true’ he said. The Lord really did send his angel and has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish people were so certain would happen to me.’

¹² As soon as he realised this he went straight to the house of Mary the mother of John Mark,[*b] where a number of people had assembled and were praying.

¹³ He knocked at the outside door and a servant called Rhoda came to answer it.

¹⁴ She recognised Peter’s voice and was so overcome with joy that, instead of opening the door, she ran inside with the news that Peter was standing at the main entrance.

¹⁵ They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind’, but she insisted that it was true. Then they said, ‘It must be his angel!’

¹⁶ Peter, meanwhile, was still knocking, so they opened the door and were amazed to see that it really was Peter himself.

¹⁷ With a gesture of his hand he stopped them talking, and described to them how the Lord had led him out of prison. He added, ‘Tell James and the brothers’. Then he left and went another place.

¹⁸ When daylight came there was a great commotion among the soldiers, who could not imagine what had become of Peter.

¹⁹ Herod put out an unsuccessful search for him; he had the guards questioned, and before leaving Judaea to take up residence in Caesarea he gave orders for their execution.

²⁰ Now Herod was on bad terms with the Tyrians and Sidonians. However, they sent a joint deputation which managed to enlist the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, and through him negotiated a treaty, since their country depended for its food supply on King Herod’s territory.

²¹ A day was fixed, and Herod, wearing his robes of state and enthroned on a dais, made a speech to them.

²² The people acclaimed him with, ‘It is a god speaking, not a man!’,

²³ and at that moment the angel of the Lord struck him down, because he had not given the glory to God. He was eaten away with worms and died.

²⁴ The word of God continued to spread and to gain followers.

²⁵ Barnabas and Saul completed their task and came back from Jerusalem, bringing John Mark with them.