Acts 12:1

James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12:1 About that time King Herod ¹  laid hands on ²  some from the church to harm them. ³ 

Acts 12:21

12:21 On a day determined in advance, Herod ⁴  put on his royal robes, ⁵  sat down on the judgment seat, ⁶  and made a speech ⁷  to them.

¹ sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great). His mediocre career is summarized in Josephus, Ant. 18-19. This event took place in a.d. 42 or 43.

² tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”

³ tn Or “to cause them injury.”

⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Or “apparel.” On Herod’s robes see Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.344), summarized in the note at the end of v. 23.

⁶ tn Although BDAG 175 s.v. βῆμα 3 gives the meaning “speaker’s platform” for this verse, and a number of modern translations use similar terms (“rostrum,” NASB; “platform,” NRSV), since the bema was a standard feature in Greco-Roman cities of the time, there is no need for an alternative translation here.

⁷ tn Or “delivered a public address.”