Acts 12

1 About [at that specific point in time] that time, King [sovereign ruler] Herod [Herod Agrippa I, a Jewish king] reached out [stretched forth his hands, to afflict] to harm [cause evil, afflict] some [certain ones, specific individuals] who belonged to [were part of, members of] the church [assembly, community of believers]. word study 2 He had James [a prominent apostle], the brother of John [one of Jesus’ twelve apostles], put to death [killed, executed] with the sword [a short sword or dagger]. word study 3 And seeing [perceiving, noticing] that this pleased [was agreeable to, satisfied] the Jews [people of Judah, Jewish people], Herod proceeded [went on, continued] to seize [arrest, capture] Peter [the rock, a prominent apostle] during [at the time of, in the midst of] the Feast [festival, celebration] of Unleavened Bread [without yeast]. word study 4 He arrested [seized, took into custody] him and put him in prison [a place of confinement], handing him over [delivered, surrendered] to be guarded by four squads [groups of four] of four soldiers [common warriors] each. Herod intended [planned, was willing] to bring him out [lead] to the people [a group of individuals] after the Passover [the Jewish festival commemorating escape from slavery]. word study 5 So Peter [the rock, a name given by Jesus] was kept [watched over, guarded] in prison [a place of confinement, under Roman authority], but the church [assembly, community of believers] was fervently [earnestly, with intense zeal] praying [offering supplications, making requests] to God [the supreme deity, Creator] for him [on his behalf, in his favor]. word study 6 On the night [before all time, in the darkness] before Herod [the king, a ruler with authority] was to bring him to trial [to judge, to pronounce sentence], Peter [the rock, a disciple of Jesus] was sleeping [resting, in a state of unconsciousness] between two soldiers [guards, men of war], bound with two chains [physical restraints, bonds of imprisonment], with sentries [watchmen, guardians] standing guard [watching, observing] at the entrance [the door, the gate] to the prison [a place of confinement, a cell]. word study 7 Suddenly [without warning, unexpectedly] an angel [messenger of God, heavenly being] of the Lord [God, the supreme authority] appeared [stood by, came upon him] and a light [divine illumination, shining brightness] shone [radiated, lit up] in the cell [prison, place of confinement]. He tapped [struck, poked] Peter [the rock, Jesus’ apostle] on the side [rib, area of the body] and woke him up, saying, “Get up [arise, stand up] quickly [with haste, swiftly].” And the chains [bonds, restraints] fell off [away from, dropped] his wrists [hands, limbs]. word study 8 “Get dressed [put on your clothes, gird yourself] and put on your sandals [bind on your shoes],” said the angel [messenger of God]. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap [cast, throw] your cloak [garment, outer clothing] around you and follow [accompany, walk with] me.” word study 9 So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware [completely ignorant, did not perceive] that what the angel [a heavenly messenger, a divine envoy] was doing was real [true, actually happening]. He thought [supposed, had an opinion] he was only seeing [perceiving with his mind, having a vision of] a vision [a supernatural sight, a revelation from God]. word study 10 They passed [traversed, went through] the first and second guards [watchmen, prison keepers] and came to the iron [made of iron, strong] gate [entrance, doorway] leading [directing, guiding] to the city [town, metropolis], which opened [was opened, swung open] for them by itself [automatically, of its own accord]. When they had gone outside [come out, emerged] and walked [proceeded, went] the length of one block [street, lane], the angel [messenger, heavenly being] suddenly [immediately, at once] left [departed, withdrew] him. word study 11 Then Peter came to himself [returned to his senses, realized what was happening] and said, “Now I know for sure [with absolute certainty, truly] that the Lord [the supreme Master] has sent His angel [a heavenly messenger, a divine agent] and rescued me from Herod’s [the king’s] grasp [control, dominion] and from everything the Jewish people [the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people] were anticipating [expecting, waiting for, full of expectation].” word study 12 And when he had realized [become aware, understood] this, he went to the house [home, dwelling place] of Mary [the mother of John Mark] the mother [parent, caregiver] of John, also called [surnamed, known as] Mark, where many people [believers, followers] had gathered together [assembled, come together] and were praying [worshiping, calling on God]. word study 13 He knocked [gave a blow, rapped] at the outer gate [door of the gate, entrance], and a servant girl [maidservant, damsel] named Rhoda [a significant figure in the early Christian church] came to answer [respond, obey] it [the door, entrance]. word study 14 When she recognized [knew deeply, understood] Peter’s voice [sound, noise], she was so overjoyed [filled with joy, ecstatic] that she forgot to open [make accessible] the gate [entrance, doorway], but ran [hastened, rushed] inside and announced [declared, proclaimed], “Peter [the rock, the apostle] is standing [positioned, waiting] at the gate [before the entrance]!” word study 15 “You are [mad] out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept [confidently, constantly] insisting [affirming, stating] it was so, they said, “It must be [probably, it cannot be him, but] his [heavenly] angel [messenger, guardian].” word study 16 But Peter [continuing steadfastly] kept on knocking [repeatedly giving blows on the door], and when they opened [made accessible] the door and saw [perceived, became aware of] him, they were [completely, utterly] astounded [amazed, astonished, shocked]. word study 17 Peter motioned [with a gesture of his hand, beckoning] with his hand for silence [to be quiet, to hold their peace], and he described [told in detail, related fully] how the Lord [the supreme authority] had brought him out [led him forth, delivered him] of the prison [a place of confinement, a guard]. “Send word [announce, declare] to James [the brother of Jesus, a leader in the church] and to the brothers [fellow believers, the community of faith],” he said, and he left [departed, went out] for another place [a different location, elsewhere]. word study 18 At daybreak [when morning came, at the break of day] there was no small [little, few] commotion [disturbance, stir, trouble] among the soldiers [warriors, armed men] as to what had become [happened, come into being] of Peter [the rock, the apostle]. word study 19 After Herod [the king, a ruler of Judea] had searched [thoroughly, diligently] for him [Peter, the apostle] unsuccessfully, he examined [investigated, questioned] the guards [watchers, soldiers] and ordered [commanded, instructed] that they be executed [put to death, led away to punishment]. Then he went down [descended, came down] from Judea [a region in southern Palestine] to Caesarea [a city in Palestine, a Roman capital] and spent [remained, stayed] some time [a while, a period] there [in that place, residing]. word study 20 Now Herod [was highly displeased, angrie] was in a furious dispute with the people [inhabitants, citizens] of Tyre [a city in ancient Phoenicia] and Sidon [a city in ancient Phoenicia], and they convened [came together, met] before him [in his presence]. Having secured [gained, obtained] the support [friendship, alliance] of Blastus [a high-ranking official], the king’s [royal, sovereign] chamberlain [personal aide, attendant], they asked [requested, petitioned] for peace [harmony, tranquility], because their region [country, territory] depended [was nourished, relied] on the king’s [royal, sovereign] country [land, territory] for food [nourishment, sustenance]. word study 21 On the appointed [set, fixed, or ordered] day, Herod [the king, a ruler of the Jews] donned [put on, arrayed himself in] his royal [kingly, belonging to a king] robes, sat [seated himself, took his place] on his throne [judgement seat, a raised platform], and addressed [made an oration, gave a speech to] the people [the crowd, the assembly]. word study 22 And they began to shout [with loud cries, in acclamation], “This is the voice [sound, noise] of a god [the divine, deity], not [certainly not] a man [a human, mortal]!” word study 23 Immediately [at once, without delay], because Herod did not give [bestow, grant] glory [honor, praise, worship] to God [the Supreme Being, Almighty], an angel [messenger, heavenly being] of the Lord [Master, Sovereign] struck him down [smote, hit], and he was eaten [consumed, devoured] by worms [maggots, parasites] and died [expired, breathed his last]. word study 24 But the word [Logos, divine message] of God [the one true deity] continued to spread [grow and increase] and multiply [increase in number, abound]. word study 25 When Barnabas [son of prophecy, a leader in the early church] and Saul [the Jewish name of the Apostle Paul] had fulfilled [completed, brought to an end] their mission [ministry, service to others] to Jerusalem [the capital of Palestine, a city of great spiritual significance], they returned [came back, turned back], bringing with them John [also known as, surnamed], also called [named, referred to as] Mark [a Christian companion, possibly the writer of the Gospel of Mark]. word study