¹At about that time Herod the king set about harming certain members of the church, ²and he killed James the brother of John by the sword. ³And seeing that this was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too. Now these were the days of the unleavened bread, ⁴and having seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, wishing to lead him up to the people after the Passover. ⁵So Peter was being guarded in the prison. Meanwhile there was intense prayer taking place by the church to God for him. ⁶Then when Herod was about to bring him forward, on that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound by two chains, while guards were guarding the prison in front of the door. ⁷And behold, the angel of the Lord came up to him, and a light shone in the cell. He prodded Peter's side and made him get up, saying, “Arise quickly.” And his chains fell off from his hands. ⁸Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” ⁹And he went out and followed him, but he was not aware that what was taking place through the angel was real, but he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰They passed through the first guard post and the second one and came to the iron gate which led to the city, which opened automatically to them. And they went out and went on down one street, then straightaway the angel departed from him. ¹¹And Peter, having come to himself, said, “Now I truly know the Lord sent his angel and set me free from Herod's grip and all the expectation of the Jewish people.” ¹²And realizing this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John who is surnamed Mark, where there was a considerable number of people gathered and praying. ¹³And when Peter had knocked on the door of the gate, a girl by the name of Rhoda came to answer it. ¹⁴And recognizing Peter's voice, she did not open the gate for joy, but ran inside and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. ¹⁵But they said to her, “You're mad.” But she affirmed that it was so. Then they said, “It's his angel.” ¹⁶But Peter continued to knock. Then they opened up and saw him and were astonished. ¹⁷Then he signalled to them with his hand to be silent, and he explained to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and he said, “Tell these things to James and the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place. ¹⁸And when day came, there was no minor disturbance among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹And Herod made a further search for him, and not finding him, he interrogated the guards and ordered them to be led away. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea and spent time there. ²⁰Now Herod was raging against the Tyrians and Sidonians. But they had come to him with one mind, and having won over Blastus, who was in charge of the king's bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supported by the king's country. ²¹And on an appointed day, Herod put on his royal clothes and sat in the courtroom and addressed them. ²²And the people shouted out, “It's the voice of God and not of a man!” ²³And immediately the angel of the Lord struck him because he had not given glory to God, and he was consumed by worms and expired. ²⁴And the word of God grew and increased. ²⁵Then Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, having fulfilled their mission, taking John surnamed Mark with them too.