Acts 12 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

James Is Killed and Peter Is Imprisoned

Act 12:1About that time King Herod Agrippa[fn] began to persecute some believers in the church.

Act 12:2He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.

Act 12:3When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.[fn])

Act 12:4

Act 12:4Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover.

Act 12:5

Act 12:5But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.

Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison

Act 12:6

Act 12:6The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

Act 12:7

Act 12:7Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists.

Act 12:8

Act 12:8Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.

Act 12:9

Act 12:9So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.

Act 12:10

Act 12:10They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.

Act 12:11

Act 12:11Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders[fn] had planned to do to me!”

Act 12:12

Act 12:12When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.

Act 12:13

Act 12:13He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.

Act 12:14

Act 12:14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”

Act 12:15

Act 12:15“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”

Act 12:16

Act 12:16Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.

Act 12:17

Act 12:17He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.

Act 12:18

Act 12:18At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.

Act 12:19

Act 12:19Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.

The Death of Herod Agrippa

Act 12:20

Act 12:20Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant,

Act 12:21

Act 12:21and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them.

Act 12:22

Act 12:22The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”

Act 12:23

Act 12:23Instantly, 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.

Act 12:24

Act 12:24Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

Act 12:25

Act 12:25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,[fn] taking John Mark with them.

See the NLT Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).

NLT Footnotes

(12:1)

Greek Herod the king. He was the nephew of Herod Antipas and a grandson of Herod the Great.

(12:3)

Greek the days of unleavened bread.

(12:11)

Or the Jewish people.

(12:25)

Or mission, they returned to Jerusalem. Other manuscripts read mission, they returned from Jerusalem; still others read mission, they returned from Jerusalem to Antioch.

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Acts Chapter 12 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New International Version English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Morphological Greek New Testament Textus Receptus Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

Acts 12 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

NLT Footnotes

Acts Chapter 12 — Additional Translations:

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