Acts 12

About that time King Herod began to attack and harm some of the people who belonged to the church.

1Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

NoteThe Herod here is Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great and nephew of the Herod who executed John the Baptist. Rome gave him the title of king over Judea and Galilee about AD 41, and he died in AD 44, so the events of this chapter fall within about three years. The King James "vex" was much stronger in 1611 than now: it meant to injure or ill treat, not merely to annoy. "Church" at this date means the body of believers themselves; there were no church buildings.

2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with a sword.

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

NoteThis James is the son of Zebedee, brother of John, one of the twelve closest followers of Jesus and the first of them known to have been killed. Death "with the sword" means beheading, a swift form of execution rather than a lingering one like crucifixion.

3When he saw that this pleased the Jewish leaders and people, he went further and arrested Peter too. This happened during the days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

3And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)

NoteThe Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven day festival running on from Passover, during which no yeast was used in bread, recalling the night Israel left Egypt in too much haste to let dough rise. Jerusalem would have been packed with pilgrims, which is why a public arrest made a political impression. Note also that "the Jews" in the King James here means the Jerusalem public and its leadership, not Jewish people in general: Peter, James and nearly everyone in the church at this point were themselves Jews.

4After seizing Peter, Herod put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He planned to bring him out before the people after the Passover festival.

4And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

NoteA "quaternion" is a squad of four soldiers. Four squads were assigned because the Romans divided the night into four watches, so one squad of four was on duty at a time. The King James "Easter" is famous oddity: the Greek word is pascha, Passover, and every modern version translates it that way. "Easter" was simply the English name the 1611 translators used for the season. Herod waits until the festival is over because executions during a holy week would inflame the crowds.

5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church kept praying to God for him without stopping.

5Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.

6On the night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, tied with two chains, while guards stood watch at the prison door.

6And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

NoteRoman guards commonly chained a prisoner by the wrist to a soldier on either side, which is why two chains hold one man. Two more soldiers watched the door, accounting for the squad of four.

7Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel tapped Peter on the side, woke him, and said, "Get up quickly." The chains fell off Peter's wrists.

7And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.

8The angel said to him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." Peter did so. Then the angel said, "Wrap your coat around you and follow me."

8And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.

Note"Gird thyself" means fasten your belt around your tunic; loose clothing was hitched up and belted before walking or working. The "garment" of the next sentence is the outer cloak, a heavy wrap that also served as a blanket at night.

9Peter went out and followed him. He did not realize that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.

9And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.

Note"Wist not" is the old past tense of "wit," to know: he did not know. A "vision" here means something seen in a trance or a dream state rather than with the eyes, which is what Peter assumes is happening to him.

10They passed the first guard post and then the second, and came to the iron gate that leads into the city. It opened for them by itself. They went out and walked down one street, and right away the angel left him.

10When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.

NoteA "ward" is a guard post or checkpoint. The iron gate opening onto the street suggests the prison was inside a fortress or palace complex rather than a free standing building. The Greek behind "of his own accord" is the word from which English gets "automatic."

11Then Peter came to his senses and said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's power and from everything the Jewish people were expecting to happen to me."

11And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the LORD hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.

12Once he had thought it through, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark. Many people were gathered there, praying.

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

Note"Surname" in the King James does not mean a family name; it means an additional name a person went by. This man was John among Jews and Mark, the Roman name Marcus, among Greeks and Romans. He travels with Barnabas and Paul later in the book. That his mother's house has an outer gate, a courtyard and a servant suggests a household of some means.

13When Peter knocked at the door of the outer gate, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.

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

NoteHouses of this kind opened onto the street through a gated entry passage leading into an inner courtyard. Rhoda was answering the street gate, far enough from the room where people were praying that they could not hear Peter for themselves. Her name means "rose" and was a common one for a servant.

14She recognized Peter's voice, and she was so glad that she did not open the gate. Instead she ran inside and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.

14And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.

15They said to her, "You are out of your mind." But she kept insisting that it was true. So they said, "It must be his angel."

15And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.

Note"Thou art mad" means you are out of your mind. "Constantly affirmed" uses "constantly" in its 1611 sense of steadfastly: she kept firmly insisting. "It is his angel" reflects a belief current among Jews of the period that a person had an accompanying angel who could be taken for that person; the group finds this easier to credit than Peter being out of prison.

16Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

16But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.

17He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet, and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, "Tell James and the brothers about this." Then he left and went somewhere else.

17But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.

NoteThis is a different James from the one killed in verse 2. By this time the leading figure in the Jerusalem community was James the brother of Jesus, and he is the one meant here. "Brethren" means fellow believers, men and women alike, not male relatives.

18As soon as morning came, there was a great uproar among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

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

19Herod searched for him and could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be put to death. Then he went from Judea down to Caesarea and stayed there.

19And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

Note"Examined" means formally interrogated, a process that under Roman practice could include torture. Executing the guards follows the Roman rule that a soldier who let a prisoner escape suffered the penalty the prisoner faced. Caesarea was the coastal city Herod the Great had built as a harbor and Rome used as its administrative center for Judea, about sixty five miles northwest of Jerusalem. "Went down" describes the drop from the Judean hills to sea level, not a compass direction.

20Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came to him together, and after winning over Blastus, the officer in charge of the king's household, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king's country for food.

20And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.

NoteTyre and Sidon were ancient Phoenician port cities on the coast north of Herod's territory, in what is now Lebanon. They were merchant towns with little farmland and bought their grain from the Galilean and Judean interior, so a king who controlled that supply could starve them into negotiating. A "chamberlain" was the official in charge of the king's private quarters, a position of trusted access and therefore real influence.

21On the day that had been set, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and gave a speech to them.

21And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.

NoteThe Jewish historian Josephus, writing about fifty years later, describes the same occasion: a festival at Caesarea held in honor of the emperor, with Herod appearing in a robe woven through with silver that caught the morning sun.

22The people shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man!"

22And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

NoteHailing a ruler's voice or person as divine was a recognized form of public flattery in the Greek speaking cities of the eastern empire, where rulers were routinely given divine honors.

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

23And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Note"Gave up the ghost" is 1611 English for died; "ghost" then meant breath or spirit. Josephus likewise reports that Herod was seized with violent internal pain at this festival and died five days later.

24But the word of God kept growing and spreading to more and more people.

24But the word of God grew and multiplied.

Note"The word of God" here means the spoken message being preached about Jesus, not a book. "Grew and multiplied" is language normally used of a family or a crop, describing how far the message spread and how many received it.

25Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem after they had completed the work they were sent to do, and they took with them John, who was also called Mark.

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

Note"Ministry" in the King James means a service or errand carried out, here the relief money the believers at Antioch had sent to Judea during the famine described at the end of chapter 11. The manuscripts genuinely disagree at this verse: some read that they returned from Jerusalem, others that they returned to Jerusalem, and the direction of the journey is uncertain.