Acts 12
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
During This Time, King Herod Kills The Apostle James And Imprisons Peter
12 And about that time, Herod[a] the king put hands on some of the ones from the church to mistreat them. 2 And he killed James[b], the brother of John, with a sword. 3 And having seen that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also (now the days of the Feast of Unleavened-Bread were taking place)— 4 whom indeed having seized, he put into prison, having handed him over to four squads[c] of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him up to the people after the Passover [Feast]. 5 So indeed Peter was being kept in the prison. And prayer was fervently being made by the church to God for him.
An Angel Releases Peter
6 And when Herod was about to bring him forth, on that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, having been bound with two chains. And guards in front of the door were keeping-watch-over the prison. 7 And behold— an angel of the Lord stood near, and light[d] shined in the cell. And having struck the side of Peter, he woke him, saying, “Arise quickly”. And his chains fell off of his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Gird-yourself [e] and tie-on your sandals”. And he did so. And he says to him, “Put-on your cloak and be following me”. 9 And having gone forth, he was following. And he did not know that the thing taking place by-means-of the angel was real, but he was thinking that he was seeing a vision. 10 And having gone through a first guard-post[f] and a second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city, which by-itself was opened for them. And having gone out, they went ahead one lane[g], and immediately the angel departed from him.
Peter Goes To The House of The Mother of John Mark, Where They Were Praying
11 And Peter, having become within[h] himself, said, “Now I know truly that the Lord sent-out His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews”. 12 And having become-aware[i], he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (the one being called Mark), where there were many assembled-together and praying. 13 And he having knocked-on the door of the gate, a servant-girl went to it to answer— Rhoda by name. 14 And having recognized the voice of Peter, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but having run in, she reported that Peter was standing in front of the gate. 15 But the ones said to her, “You are mad[j]”. But the one was insisting that it was holding so. But the ones were saying, “It is his angel”. 16 But Peter was continuing-on knocking. And having opened, they saw him and were astonished. 17 And having motioned to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James[k] and the brothers”. And having gone out, he proceeded to another place.
When Peter Can’t Be Found, The Guards Are Executed. Herod Dies In Caesarea
18 Now having become day, there was no small disturbance[l] among the soldiers as to what then became of Peter. 19 And Herod, having searched-for him and not having found him, having examined the guards, ordered that they be led[m] away. And having gone down from Judea to Caesarea, he was spending-time there. 20 Now he was being very-angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians. And they were coming to him with-one-accord. And having won-over[n] Blastus, the one over the bedroom[o] of the king, they were asking-for peace, because of their country being provided-for[p] from the royal land. 21 And on an appointed day, Herod— having put on the royal clothing, and having sat on the judgment-seat— was giving-a-public-address to them. 22 And the public-assembly was calling-out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 And at once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God. And having become eaten-by-worms, he expired[q].
Barnabas And Saul Return To Antioch From Judea, With John Mark
24 But the word of God was growing and being multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned, having fulfilled the ministry to Jerusalem, having taken along John[r] with them (the one having been called Mark).
Footnotes
- Acts 12:1 That is, Herod Agrippa I, the last king of Israel. His death, mentioned in verse 23, occurred in a.d. 44.
- Acts 12:2 That is, the apostle James.
- Acts 12:4 Or, quaternians. That is, four four-man squads working three-hour watches overnight, two men inside chained to the prisoner and two outside at the door. This was the Roman custom.
- Acts 12:7 Or, a light.
- Acts 12:8 That is, put on your belt, which was worn over the tunic (undergarment) and under the cloak.
- Acts 12:10 Or, prison-ward.
- Acts 12:10 Or, alley.
- Acts 12:11 That is, having collected himself and seen that it was real.
- Acts 12:12 That is, of where he was.
- Acts 12:15 Or, out-of-your-mind.
- Acts 12:17 That is, the brother of the Lord, and leader of the Jerusalem church.
- Acts 12:18 Or, commotion.
- Acts 12:19 That is, to execution, the Roman custom.
- Acts 12:20 Or, persuaded, convinced.
- Acts 12:20 That is, the chamberlain, a trusted attendant.
- Acts 12:20 Or, providing-for itself. In either case, the port cities of Tyre and Sidon, which were not part of Herod’s kingdom, were economically dependent on his land, and so sought peace with him.
- Acts 12:23 Josephus, who also speaks of this, adds that Herod died five days later.
- Acts 12:25 John-Mark is the cousin of Barnabas, Col 4:10.
Hechos 12
Reina Valera Contemporánea
Muerte de Jacobo; encarcelamiento de Pedro
12 Por eso mismos días el rey Herodes mandó aprehender a algunos miembros de la iglesia para maltratarlos. 2 A Jacobo, hermano de Juan, lo mató a filo de espada 3 Y al ver que esto agradó a los judíos, mandó aprehender también a Pedro, en la fiesta de los panes sin levadura. 4 Luego lo encarceló y lo entregó a cuatro grupos de soldados, para que lo vigilaran. Cada grupo estaba compuesto de cuatro soldados, y Herodes tenía la intención de presentarlo ante el pueblo después de la pascua.(A) 5 Mientras que Pedro era bien vigilado en la cárcel, en la iglesia se oraba constantemente a Dios por él.
Pedro es librado de la cárcel
6 La noche en que Herodes lo iba a sacar, Pedro estaba durmiendo entre dos soldados, sujeto con dos cadenas, y frente a la puerta había también guardias que vigilaban la cárcel. 7 De pronto una luz iluminó la cárcel y apareció un ángel del Señor, el cual tocó a Pedro en el costado para despertarlo, y le dijo: «¡De prisa, levántate!» Y al instante las cadenas se le cayeron de las manos. 8 Entonces el ángel le dijo: «Recoge tu ropa y átate las sandalias; envuélvete en tu manto y sígueme.» Y Pedro obedeció. 9 Salieron de la celda y Pedro lo siguió, aunque creía que lo que el ángel hacía era una visión. 10 Pasaron la primera y la segunda guardia, y al llegar a la puerta de hierro que daba a la ciudad, ¡ésta se abrió por sí misma! Una vez afuera, cruzaron una calle y luego el ángel desapareció. 11 Entonces Pedro volvió en sí, y dijo: «Ahora me doy cuenta de que en verdad el Señor envió su ángel para librarme de Herodes y de todo lo que el pueblo judío esperaba hacer.»
12 Mientras pensaba así, llegó a casa de María, la madre de Juan, a quien todos conocían como Marcos. Muchos hermanos se habían reunido allí para orar. 13 Cuando Pedro llamó a la puerta del patio, una muchacha llamada Rode salió a ver quien llamaba, 14 y al reconocer la voz de Pedro se puso tan alegre que no abrió, sino que corrió a decir que Pedro estaba a la puerta. 15 Ellos le dijeron que estaba loca. Pero ante su insistencia, ellos dijeron: «¡Ha de ser su ángel!» 16 Mientras tanto, Pedro seguía llamando; así que cuando abrieron y lo vieron, se quedaron atónitos. 17 Pero Pedro les hizo señas con la mano para que callaran, y entonces les contó cómo el Señor lo había sacado de la cárcel. Y añadió: «Digan esto a Jacobo y a los hermanos.» Luego salió, y se fue a otro lugar.
18 Cuando amaneció, hubo mucho alboroto entre los soldados, pues no sabían qué había pasado con Pedro. 19 Herodes lo buscó y, como no lo halló, hizo interrogar a los guardias y luego ordenó que los mataran. Pedro, por su parte, salió de Judea y se fue a Cesarea, donde se quedó.
Muerte de Herodes
20 Herodes estaba muy enojado con los habitantes de Tiro y de Sidón, pero ellos se pusieron de acuerdo y sobornaron al camarero mayor del rey, un hombre llamado Blasto, para que los llevara ante él; y es que querían llegar a un arreglo amistoso, pues sus abastos los recibían a través del territorio del rey. 21 El día convenido, Herodes llegó vestido con sus ropas reales y se sentó en el trono para dirigirles un discurso formal. 22 El pueblo estaba muy emocionado y lo aclamaba a grandes gritos: «¡Queremos voz de Dios, y no voz de un hombre!» 23 En ese momento, un ángel del Señor lo hirió porque no le dio la gloria a Dios, y Herodes murió agusanado.
24 Mientras tanto, la palabra del Señor seguía extendiéndose y multiplicándose.
25 Cuando Bernabé y Saulo cumplieron su servicio, volvieron de Jerusalén y se llevaron con ellos a Juan, también conocido como Marcos.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
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