| Berean Study Bible | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church. | 1About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, |
| 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. | 2and he executed James, John's brother, with the sword. |
| 3And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. | 3When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. |
| 4He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover. | 4After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. |
| 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him. | 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him. |
| 6On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison. | 6When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison. |
| 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. | 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said, "Quick, get up!" And the chains fell off his wrists. |
| 8“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” | 8"Get dressed," the angel told him, "and put on your sandals." And he did. "Wrap your cloak around you," he told him, "and follow me." |
| 9So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision. | 9So he went out and followed, and he did not know that what the angel did was really happening, but he thought he was seeing a vision. |
| 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him. | 10After they passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself. They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him. |
| 11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.” | 11When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected." |
| 12And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying. | 12As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many had assembled and were praying. |
| 13He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. | 13He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. |
| 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!” | 14She recognized Peter's voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate. |
| 15“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” | 15"You're out of your mind!" they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, "It's his angel." |
| 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded. | 16Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. |
| 17Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place. | 17Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. "Tell these things to James and the brothers," he said, and he left and went to another place. |
| 18At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. | 18At daylight, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. |
| 19After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there. | 19After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. |
| 20Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food. | 20Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. Together they presented themselves before him. After winning over Blastus, who was in charge of the king's bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king's country. |
| 21On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. | 21On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them. |
| 22And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” | 22The assembled people began to shout, "It's the voice of a god and not of a man!" |
| 23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. | 23At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. |
| 24But the word of God continued to spread and multiply. | 24But the word of God flourished and multiplied. |
| 25When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark. | 25After they had completed their relief mission, Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, taking along John who was called Mark. |
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