Acts 12

An Angel Rescues Peter From Prison

1About this time, King Herod started attacking the church. He arrested many believers, 2and he had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. 3When Herod saw that this pleased the church’s Jewish opponents, he arrested Peter as well. He did this during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4He put Peter in prison and had him guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod was planning to bring him out for a public trial after the Passover Feast.

5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying hard to God for him.

6The night before Herod was going to put him on trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Lookouts were posted at the entrance to the prison. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in Peter’s cell. The angel struck him on his side to wake him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8Then the angel told him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” Peter did this. Next the angel said, “Put on your coat and follow me.” 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards, and when they came to the iron gate leading to the city, it opened for them by itself. They went through it and walked the length of one street. Suddenly the angel left Peter.

11Then Peter realized what had happened. He said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod’s control. He has saved me from everything the Jewish people expected would happen.”

12Now that Peter understood what was going on, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many people had gathered in her home to pray there. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she got so excited that she ran back without opening it. “Peter’s at the door!” she told everyone excitedly.

15“You’re out of your mind,” they responded. But she kept insisting it was true. So they decided, “It must be his angel.”

16Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. 17Peter motioned with his hands for them to be quiet. Then he explained how the Lord had freed him from prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he went to a different place.

18In the morning the soldiers were in an uproar because no one could figure out what had happened to Peter. 19Herod searched everywhere for him, but he couldn’t find him. So he suspected the guards. He questioned them and ordered them to be put to death.

Herod Dies

Herod then went from Judea to stay in Caesarea. 20He’d been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They depended on the king’s country to supply them with food, so they got together and asked for a meeting with him. They gained the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, and through him asked for peace.

21When the time for the meeting came, Herod sat on his throne wearing his royal robes. After he’d made a speech to the people, 22they shouted, “That wasn’t the voice of a man, it was the voice of a god!” 23Because Herod didn’t admit that he wasn’t God, an angel of the Lord struck him down. He was eaten by worms and died.

24But God’s word continued to spread, and many people believed the message.

Barnabas and Saul Are Sent Off

25After Barnabas and Saul had delivered the gift the believers had sent from Antioch, they returned from Jerusalem, bringing with them John, who was also called Mark.

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