^12:22But the crowd⁷⁶ began to shout,⁷⁷ “The voice of a god,⁷⁸ and not of a man!” ^12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord⁷⁹ struck⁸⁰ Herod⁸¹ down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.⁸²

Read in Logos

Footnotes

76 The translation “crowd” is given by δῆμος; the word often means a gathering of citizens to conduct public business. Here it is simply the group of people gathered to hear the king’s speech.
77 The imperfect verb ἐπεφώνει (epephōnei) is taken ingressively in the sequence of events. Presumably the king had started his speech when the crowd began shouting.
78 The voice of a god. Contrast the response of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:13–15.
79 Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in .
80 On being struck … down by an angel, see Acts 23:3; 1 Sam 25:28; 2 Sam 12:15; 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 13:20; 2 Macc 9:5.
81 Grk “him”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
82 He was eaten by worms and died. Josephus, 19.8.2 (19.343–352), states that Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in a.d. 44. The account by Josephus, while not identical to Luke’s account, is similar in many respects: On the second day of a festival, Herod Agrippa appeared in the theater with a robe made of silver. When it sparkled in the sun, the people cried out flatteries and declared him to be a god. The king, carried away by the flattery, saw an owl (an omen of death) sitting on a nearby rope, and immediately was struck with severe stomach pains. He was carried off to his house and died five days later. The two accounts can be reconciled without difficulty, since while Luke states that Herod was immediately struck down by an angel, his death could have come several days later. The mention of worms with death adds a humiliating note to the scene. The formerly powerful ruler had been thoroughly reduced to nothing (cf. Jdt 16:17; 2 Macc 9:9; cf. also Josephus, 17.6.5 [17.168–170], which details the sickness which led to Herod the Great’s death).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!” At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

NLTNew Living Translation

The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But the people began to call out loudly, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give the glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

KJV 1900King James Version

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

Public Domain