| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church. | 1About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. |
| 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. | 2He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. |
| 3And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. | 3When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. ) |
| 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. | 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 prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him. | 5But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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, 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. |
| 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.” | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 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 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. | 12When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. |
| 13He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. | 13He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. |
| 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!” | 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!” |
| 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 said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” |
| 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded. | 16Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally 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. | 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. |
| 18At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. | 18At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to 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. | 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 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. | 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 the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. | 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. |
| 22And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!” | 22The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, 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. | 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 God continued to spread and multiply. | 24Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers. |
| 25When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark. | 25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them. |
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