| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New Living Translation |
| 1Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. | 1About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. |
| 2And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. | 2He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. |
| 3When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. | 3When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. ) |
| 4When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. | 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. |
| 5So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. | 5But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison |
| 6On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. | 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. |
| 7And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly." And his chains fell off his hands. | 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. |
| 8And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me." | 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. |
| 9And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. | 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. |
| 10When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. | 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. |
| 11When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting." | 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 had planned to do to me!” |
| 12And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. | 12When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. |
| 13When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. | 13He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. |
| 14When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. | 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!” |
| 15They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, "It is his angel." | 15“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” |
| 16But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. | 16Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. |
| 17But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren." Then he left and went to another place. | 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. |
| 18Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. | 18At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. |
| 19When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there. | 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 |
| 20Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country. | 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, |
| 21On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. | 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. |
| 22The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" | 22The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!” |
| 23And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. | 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. |
| 24But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. | 24Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers. |
| 25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark. | 25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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