Acts 12:1-12

Context

James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12:1 About that time King Herod¹ laid hands on² some from the church to harm them.³ 12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.⁴ 12:3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews,⁵ he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.)⁶ 12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads⁷ of soldiers to guard him. Herod⁸ planned⁹ to bring him out for public trial¹⁰ after the Passover. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly¹¹ praying to God for him.¹² 12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial,¹³ Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while¹⁴ guards in front of the door were keeping watch¹⁵ over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly¹⁶ an angel of the Lord¹⁷ appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck¹⁸ Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s¹⁹ wrists.²⁰ 12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt²¹ and put on your sandals.” Peter²² did so. Then the angel²³ said to him, “Put on your cloak²⁴ and follow me.” 12:9 Peter²⁵ went out²⁶ and followed him;²⁷ he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real,²⁸ but thought he was seeing a vision. 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards,²⁹ they came to the iron³⁰ gate leading into the city. It³¹ opened for them by itself,³² and they went outside and walked down one narrow street,³³ when at once the angel left him. 12:11 When³⁴ Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued³⁵ me from the hand³⁶ of Herod³⁷ and from everything the Jewish people³⁸ were expecting to happen.”

12:12 When Peter³⁹ realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,⁴⁰ where many people had gathered together and were praying.

[12:1] ¹sn 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.

[12:1] ²tn Or “King Herod had some from the church arrested.”

[12:1] ³tn Or “to cause them injury.”

[12:2] ⁴sn The expression executed with a sword probably refers to a beheading. James was the first known apostolic martyr (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 2.9.1-3). On James, not the Lord’s brother, see Luke 5:10; 6:14. This death ended a short period of peace noted in Acts 9:31 after the persecution mentioned in 8:1-3.

[12:3] ⁵tn This could be a reference to the Jewish people (so CEV) or to the Jewish leaders (so NLT). The statement in v. 4 that Herod intended to bring Peter “out to the people” (i.e., for a public trial) may suggest the former is somewhat more likely.

[12:3] ⁶sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[12:4] ⁷sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

[12:4] ⁸tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

[12:4] ⁹tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

[12:4] ¹⁰tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

[12:5] ¹¹tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

[12:5] ¹²tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.

[12:6] ¹³tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

[12:6] ¹⁴tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

[12:6] ¹⁵tn Or “were guarding.”

[12:7] ¹⁶tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.

[12:7] ¹⁷tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

[12:7] ¹⁸tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:7] ¹⁹tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:7] ²⁰tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.

[12:8] ²¹tn While ζώννυμι (zwnnumi) sometimes means “to dress,” referring to the fastening of the belt or sash as the final act of getting dressed, in this context it probably does mean “put on your belt” since in the conditions of a prison Peter had probably not changed into a different set of clothes to sleep. More likely he had merely removed his belt or sash, which the angel now told him to replace. The translation “put on your belt” is given by L&N 49.14 for this verse. The archaic English “girdle” for the sash or belt has an entirely different meaning today.

[12:8] ²²tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:8] ²³tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:8] ²⁴tn Or “outer garment.”

[12:9] ²⁵tn Grk “And going out he followed.”

[12:9] ²⁶tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[12:9] ²⁷tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

[12:9] ²⁸tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).

[12:10] ²⁹tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

[12:10] ³⁰sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

[12:10] ³¹tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

[12:10] ³²tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

[12:10] ³³tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

[12:11] ³⁴tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[12:11] ³⁵tn Or “delivered.”

[12:11] ³⁶sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.

[12:11] ³⁷sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

[12:11] ³⁸sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).

[12:12] ³⁹tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:12] ⁴⁰tn Grk “John who was also called Mark.”