Acts 12:1–25

Now about that time ^aHerod the king ^||bstretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. ²And he killed ^cJames the brother of ^dJohn ^ewith the sword. ³And ^eebecause he saw it pleased the Jews, he ^fproceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were ^gthe days of unleavened bread.) ⁴And when he had apprehended him, he put him in ^hprison, and delivered him to four ⁱquaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after ^jEaster to bring him forth to the people. ⁵Peter therefore was kept in prison: but ^||prayer was made without ceasing ^kof the church unto God for him. ⁶And when ^aHerod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with ^ltwo chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. ⁷And, behold, ^mthe angel of the Lord ⁿcame upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and ^ohe smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. ⁸And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and ^pbind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. ⁹And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought ^qhe saw ^ra vision. ¹⁰When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; ^swhich opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. ¹¹And when Peter was ^tcome to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent ^uhis angel, and ^whath delivered me out of the hand of ^aHerod, and from all ^xthe expectation of the people of the Jews. ¹²And when he had ^yconsidered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of ^zJohn, whose surname was ^aMark; where many were gathered together ^bpraying.

¹³And as Peter knocked at the door of ^cthe gate, ^da damsel came ^||to hearken, named Rhoda. ¹⁴And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not ^cthe gate ^efor gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before ^cthe gate. ¹⁵And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she ^fconstantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is ^ghis angel. ¹⁶But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷But he, ^hbeckoning 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 ⁱJames, and to ^kthe brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. ¹⁸Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. ¹⁹And when ^lHerod had sought for him, and found him not, he ^mexamined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to ⁿCaesarea, and there abode.

²⁰And ^lHerod ^||was highly displeased with them of ^oTyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, ^phaving made Blastus ^†the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because ^qtheir country was nourished by the king’s country. ²¹And upon a set day ^lHerod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his ^rthrone, and made an oration unto them. ²²And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. ²³And immediately the angel of the Lord ^ssmote him, because ^the gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. ²⁴But ^uthe word of God grew and multiplied. ^25wAnd ^xBarnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ^||yministry, and ^ttook with them ^zJohn, whose surname was ^zMark.