Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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More Persecution
1 About this time King Herod note
began to persecute some
members of the church.
2 He had
James, the brother of John, put to
death by the sword.
3 When he saw
that this pleased the Jews, he went
ahead and had Peter arrested. (This
happened during the time of the Festival
of Unleavened Bread.)
4 After
his arrest Peter was put in jail,
where he was handed over to be
guarded by four groups of four soldiers
each. Herod planned to put
him on trial in public after Passover. note
5 So Peter was kept in jail, but the
people of the church were praying
earnestly to God for him.
Peter Is Set Free from Prison
6 The night before Herod was
going to bring him out to the people,
Peter was sleeping between two
guards. He was tied with two chains,
and there were guards on duty at the
prison gate.
7 Suddenly an angel of
the Lord stood there, and a light
shone in the cell. The angel shook
Peter by the shoulder, woke him up,
and said, “Hurry! Get up!” At once
the chains fell off Peter's hands.
8 Then the angel said, “Tighten your
belt and put on your sandals.” Peter
did so, and the angel said, “Put your
cloak around you and come with
me.”
9 Peter followed him out of the
prison, not knowing, however, if
what the angel was doing was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
10 They passed by the first guard station
and then the second, and came
at last to the iron gate that opens
into the city. The gate opened for
them by itself, and they went out.
They walked down a street, and suddenly
the angel left Peter.
11 Then Peter realized what had
happened to him, and said, “Now
I know that it is really true! The
Lord sent his angel to rescue me
from Herod's power and from everything
the Jewish people expected to
happen.”
12 Aware of his situation, he went
to the home of Mary, the mother of
John Mark, where many people had
gathered and were praying.
13 Peter
knocked at the outside door, and a
servant girl named Rhoda came to
answer it.
14 She recognized Peter's
voice and was so happy that she ran
back in without opening the door,
and announced that Peter was
standing outside.
15 “You are crazy!”
they told her. But she insisted that it
was true. So they answered, “It is
his angel.”
16 Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking.
At last they opened the door,
and when they saw him, they were
amazed.
17 He motioned with his
hand for them to be quiet, and he explained
to them how the Lord had
brought him out of prison. “Tell this
to James and the rest of the believers,”
he said; then he left and went
somewhere else.
18 When morning came, there was
a tremendous confusion among the
guards—what had happened to Peter?
19 Herod gave orders to search
for him, but they could not find him.
So he had the guards questioned and
ordered them put to death.
19 After this, Herod left Judea and
spent some time in Caesarea.
The Death of Herod
20 Herod was very angry with the
people of Tyre and Sidon, so they
went in a group to see him. First
-- --
they convinced Blastus, the man in
charge of the palace, that he should
help them. Then they went to Herod
and asked him for peace, because
their country got its food supplies
from the king's country.
21 On a chosen day Herod put on
his royal robes, sat on his throne,
and made a speech to the people.
22 “It isn't a man speaking, but a
god!” they shouted.
23 At once the
angel of the Lord struck Herod
down, because he did not give honor
to God. He was eaten by worms and
died. note
24 Meanwhile the word of God continued
to spread and grow.
25 Barnabas and Saul finished their
mission and returned from note Jerusalem,
taking John Mark with them.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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