Acts · 25 verses
Acts 12
Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.
The chapter
What happens here
Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.
Peter escaped a prison guarded by sixteen soldiers, walked one block with an angel, and only then discovered that the escape was real; at the house where the church was praying for him, Rhoda recognised his voice, forgot to open the gate, and was told she was out of her mind.
The gate opens by itselfvv. 1–17
Herod began by having James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword, and then seized Peter because the first cruelty had pleased the Jews. Peter was locked up between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while four squads guarded him and the church prayed fervently. On the night before his trial, an angel woke him, told him to dress, and led him past the guards. The iron gate opened by itself; after they had walked the length of one block, the angel left, and Peter finally understood that he had not been seeing a vision. He went to Mary’s house, where the praying company managed the remarkable feat of disbelieving Rhoda when she announced him at the gate. Rhoda herself had been so delighted by Peter’s voice that she forgot the small administrative matter of opening it. Peter kept knocking until the door was opened, then described his escape and left for another place.
The royal robes and the wormsvv. 18–25
At daybreak the soldiers found that Peter had vanished, which produced no small commotion. Herod searched unsuccessfully, examined the guards, and ordered them executed before going down from Judea to Caesarea. There he quarrelled furiously with Tyre and Sidon, whose people sought peace because their region depended on the king’s country for food. On the appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the crowd. They called his voice the voice of a god, not a man; immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. The word of God, rather less grandly dressed, continued to spread and multiply. Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem with John, also called Mark.
The text
Read it
Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.
Acts 12:1About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
Acts 12:2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Acts 12:3And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Acts 12:4He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
Acts 12:5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.
Acts 12:6On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.
Acts 12:7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
Acts 12:8“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
Acts 12:9So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.
Acts 12:10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.
Acts 12:11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
Acts 12:12And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
Acts 12:13He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
Acts 12:14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”
Acts 12:15“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
Acts 12:16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.
Acts 12:17Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.
Acts 12:18At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
Acts 12:19After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.
Acts 12:20Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.
Acts 12:21On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.
Acts 12:22And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”
Acts 12:23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Acts 12:24But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.
Acts 12:25When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.
01 — Also here
Who else the chapter reaches
Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.
Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.
Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.
02 — Read alongside
Where this is echoed
Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 291 passages were voted onto 22 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.
- 51 Corinthians 12:26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
- 7Acts 16:26Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
- 1Matthew 24:9Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
- 7Acts 5:19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out, saying,
- 51 Thessalonians 5:17Pray without ceasing.
- 5James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail.
- 5Ephesians 6:18–20Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
- 1John 15:20Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they kept My word, they will keep yours as well.
- 1Matthew 10:17–18But beware of men, for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
- 52 Corinthians 1:11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the favor shown us in answer to their prayers.
- 11Daniel 6:22My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.”
- 3Exodus 23:15You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.
- 5Matthew 18:19Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.
- 7Psalms 146:7He executes justice for the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free,
- 23Acts 10:25–26As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
- 23Psalms 115:1Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.
Onward