Acts:12:1-19

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Seeker Overlay ON

* Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church . * Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword . * And because he saw that it pleased the Jews , he proceeded further to seize Peter also . Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread . * So when he had arrested him , he put him in prison , and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him , intending to bring him before the people after Passover . * Peter was therefore kept in prison , but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church . * And when Herod was about to bring him out , that night Peter was sleeping , bound with two chains between two soldiers ; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison . * Now behold , an angel of the Lord stood by him , and a light shone in the prison ; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up , saying , "Arise quickly !" And his chains fell off his hands . * Then the angel said to him , "Gird yourself and tie on your sandals "; and so he did . And he said to him , "Put on your garment and follow me ." * So he went out and followed him , and did not know that what was done by the angel was real , but thought he was seeing a vision . * When they were past the first and the second guard posts , they came to the iron gate that leads to the city , which opened to them of its own accord ; and they went out and went down one street , and immediately the angel departed from him . * And when Peter had come to himself , he said , "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel , and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people ." * So , when he had considered this , he came to the house of Mary , the mother of John whose surname was Mark , where many were gathered together praying . * And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate , a girl named Rhoda came to answer . * When she recognized Peter 's voice , because of her gladness she did not open the gate , but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate . * But they said to her , "You are beside yourself !" Yet she kept insisting that it was so . So they said , "It is his angel ." * Now Peter continued knocking ; and when they opened the door and saw him , they were astonished . * But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent , he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison . And he said , "Go , tell these things to James and to the brethren ." And he departed and went to another place . * Then , as soon as it was day , there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter . * But when Herod had searched for him and not found him , he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death . And he went down from Judea to Caesarea , and stayed there .

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