Now at that time ¹Herod Agrippa I the king of the Jews arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to harm them. 2 And he ^ahad James the brother of John ^bput to death with a sword; 3 and when he saw that it ^apleased the Jews, he proceeded to have Peter arrested as well. This was during ^bthe days of Unleavened Bread the Passover week. 4 When he had seized Peter, he put him in prison, turning him over to four ^asquads of soldiers of four each to guard him in rotation throughout the night, planning after ^bthe Passover to bring him out before the people for execution. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but fervent and persistent prayer for him was being made to God by the church.

6 The very night before Herod was to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, ^abound with two chains, and sentries were in front of the door guarding the prison. 7 Suddenly, ^aan angel of the Lord ^bappeared beside him and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter’s side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And ^cthe chains fell off his hands. 8 The angel said to him, “Prepare yourself and strap on your sandals to get ready for whatever may happen.” And he did so. Then the angel told him, “Put on your robe and follow me.” 9 And Peter went out following the angel. He did not realize that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing ^aa vision. 10 When they had passed the first guard and the second, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city. ^aOf its own accord it swung open for them; and they went out and went along one street, and at once the angel left him. 11 When Peter ^acame to his senses, he said, “Now I know for certain that ^bthe Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting to do to me.” 12 When he realized what had happened, he went to the house of ¹Mary the mother of ^aJohn, who was also called ²Mark, where many believers were gathered together and ^bwere praying continually and had been praying all night. 13 When he knocked at the door of the gateway, ^aa servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, ^ain her joy she failed to open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gateway. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is ^ahis angel!” Matt 18:10; Heb 1:14 16 But meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were completely amazed. 17 But ^amotioning to them with his hand to be quiet and listen, he described how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to ^1bJames and ^cthe brothers and sisters.” Then he left and went to another place.

18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he interrogated the guards and commanded that they ^abe led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to ^bCaesarea Maritima and spent some time there.

20 Now Herod Agrippa I was ¹extremely angry with the people of ^aTyre and Sidon; and their delegates came to him in a united group, and after persuading Blastus, ²the king’s chamberlain to support their cause, they asked for peace, because ^btheir country was fed by imports of grain and other goods from the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day Herod dressed himself in his ¹royal robes, sat on his throne (tribunal, rostrum) and began delivering a speech to the people. 22 The assembled people kept shouting, “It is the voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And at once ^aan angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory and instead permitted himself to be worshiped, and ¹he was eaten by worms and died five days later.

24 But ^athe word of the Lord the good news about salvation through Christ continued to grow and spread increasing in effectiveness.

25 ^aBarnabas and ^bSaul came back ¹from Jerusalem ^cwhen they had completed their mission, bringing with them ^dJohn, who was also called Mark. Acts 11:28-30