Chapter 12

1Around that time, King Herod began mistreating some people from the community of Jesus’ followers.

2He had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword.

3When Herod saw that this pleased the Jewish people, he arrested Peter too. This happened during the Festival of Bread Without Yeast.

4After seizing Peter, Herod put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He planned to bring Peter out before the people after Passover, the Jewish festival celebrating Israel’s rescue from Egypt.

5So Peter was kept under guard in prison, but the community of believers was praying intensely to God for him.

6On the night before Herod planned to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. He was bound with two chains, and guards stood in front of the door watching the prison.

7Suddenly, an angel sent by the Lord stood there, and light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side, woke him, and said, “Get up quickly!” The chains fell from Peter’s hands.

8The angel told him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” Peter did so. Then the angel said, “Put on your outer coat and follow me.”

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

10They passed the first guard post and then the second. When they reached the iron gate leading into the city, it opened for them by itself. They went out and walked along one street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

11When Peter came to his senses, he 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 expected to happen to me.”

12Once Peter understood what had happened, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was also called Mark. Many people had gathered there and were praying.

13Peter knocked at the door in the entrance gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

14She recognized Peter’s voice, but she was so joyful that she did not open the gate. Instead, she ran inside and announced that Peter was standing outside.

15They told her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was true. They replied, “It must be his angel.”

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

17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet. Then he explained how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He said, “Tell James and the other believers what happened.” Then he left and went somewhere else.

18When morning came, there was great confusion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.

19Herod searched for him but could not find him. After questioning the guards, he ordered them to be taken away for execution. Then Herod left Judea and stayed in Caesarea.

20Herod was furious with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came to him as a united group. After winning the support of Blastus, the official in charge of the king’s private rooms, they asked for peace because their region depended on the king’s territory for its food supply.

21On the appointed day, Herod put on his royal clothing, sat on the public judgment platform, and delivered a speech to them.

22The crowd shouted, “That is the voice of a god, not a human being!”

23Immediately, an angel sent by the Lord struck Herod down because he accepted the honor instead of giving the glory to God. Worms consumed him, and he died.

24But God’s message kept growing and spreading.

25Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem after completing their mission of service. They brought John, who was also called Mark, with them.