¹ En aquel mismo tiempo el rey Herodes echó mano a algunos de la iglesia para maltratarles.

² Y mató a espada a Jacobo, hermano de Juan.

³ Y viendo que esto había agradado a los judíos, procedió a prender también a Pedro. Eran entonces los días de los panes sin levadura.

⁴ Y habiéndole tomado preso, le puso en la cárcel, entregándole a cuatro grupos de cuatro soldados cada uno, para que le custodiasen; y se proponía sacarle al pueblo después de la pascua.

⁵ Así que Pedro estaba custodiado en la cárcel; pero la iglesia hacía sin cesar oración a Dios por él.

⁶ Y cuando Herodes le iba a sacar, aquella misma noche estaba Pedro durmiendo entre dos soldados, sujeto con dos cadenas, y los guardas delante de la puerta custodiaban la cárcel.

⁷ Y he aquí que se presentó un ángel del Señor, y una luz resplandeció en la cárcel; y tocando a Pedro en el costado, le despertó, diciendo: Levántate pronto. Y las cadenas se le cayeron de las manos.

⁸ Le dijo el ángel: Cíñete, y átate las sandalias. Y lo hizo así. Y le dijo: Envuélvete en tu manto, y sígueme.

⁹ Y saliendo, le seguía; pero no sabía que era verdad lo que hacía el ángel, sino que pensaba que veía una visión.

¹⁰ Habiendo pasado la primera y la segunda guardia, llegaron a la puerta de hierro que daba a la ciudad, la cual se les abrió por sí misma; y salidos, pasaron una calle, y luego el ángel se apartó de él.

¹¹ Entonces Pedro, volviendo en sí, dijo: Ahora entiendo verdaderamente que el Señor ha enviado su ángel, y me ha librado de la mano de Herodes, y de todo lo que el pueblo de los judíos esperaba.

¹² Y habiendo considerado esto, llegó a casa de María la madre de Juan, el que tenía por sobrenombre Marcos, donde muchos estaban reunidos orando.

¹³ Cuando llamó Pedro a la puerta del patio, salió a escuchar una muchacha llamada Rode,

¹⁴ la cual, cuando reconoció la voz de Pedro, de gozo no abrió la puerta, sino que corriendo adentro, dio la nueva de que Pedro estaba a la puerta.

¹⁵ Y ellos le dijeron: Estás loca. Pero ella aseguraba que así era. Entonces ellos decían: ¡Es su ángel!

¹⁶ Mas Pedro persistía en llamar; y cuando abrieron y le vieron, se quedaron atónitos.

¹⁷ Pero él, haciéndoles con la mano señal de que callasen, les contó cómo el Señor le había sacado de la cárcel. Y dijo: Haced saber esto a Jacobo y a los hermanos. Y salió, y se fue a otro lugar.

¹⁸ Luego que fue de día, hubo no poco alboroto entre los soldados sobre qué había sido de Pedro.

¹⁹ Mas Herodes, habiéndole buscado sin hallarle, después de interrogar a los guardas, ordenó llevarlos a la muerte. Después descendió de Judea a Cesarea y se quedó allí.

²⁰ Y Herodes estaba enojado contra los de Tiro y de Sidón; pero ellos vinieron de acuerdo ante él, y sobornado Blasto, que era camarero mayor del rey, pedían paz, porque su territorio era abastecido por el del rey.

²¹ Y un día señalado, Herodes, vestido de ropas reales, se sentó en el tribunal y les arengó.

²² Y el pueblo aclamaba gritando: ¡Voz de Dios, y no de hombre!

²³ Al momento un ángel del Señor le hirió, por cuanto no dio la gloria a Dios; y expiró comido de gusanos.

²⁴ Pero la palabra del Señor crecía y se multiplicaba.

²⁵ Y Bernabé y Saulo, cumplido su servicio, volvieron de Jerusalén, llevando también consigo a Juan, el que tenía por sobrenombre Marcos.

¹ Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.

² Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ 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."

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ 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."

¹² 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.

¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ But they said to her, "You are beside yourself!" Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, "It is his angel."

¹⁶ Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.

¹⁷ 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.

¹⁸ Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter.

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king's personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king's country.

²¹ So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them.

²² And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!"

²³ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴ But the word of God grew and multiplied.

²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.