When
this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of
John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were
praying. Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl
named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter's
voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and
exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"
"You're
out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that
it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
But Peter kept on
knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were
astonished. Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and
described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell
James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left
for another place.
Verses 18-19a
In the morning, there
was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of
Peter. After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not
find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be
executed.
Verses 19b-23
Then Herod went
from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. He had been
quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined
together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support
of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for
peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food
supply.
On the appointed
day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered
a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the
voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did
not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he
was eaten by worms and died.
Verses 24,25
But the word of God
continued to increase and spread.
When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they
returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
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