Acts 12:4-11

12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads¹ of soldiers to guard him. Herod² planned³ to bring him out for public trial⁴ after the Passover. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly⁵ praying to God for him.⁶ 12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial,⁷ Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while⁸ guards in front of the door were keeping watch⁹ over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly¹⁰ an angel of the Lord¹¹ appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck¹² Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s¹³ wrists.¹⁴ 12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt¹⁵ and put on your sandals.” Peter¹⁶ did so. Then the angel¹⁷ said to him, “Put on your cloak¹⁸ and follow me.” 12:9 Peter¹⁹ went out²⁰ and followed him;²¹ he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real,²² but thought he was seeing a vision. 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards,²³ they came to the iron²⁴ gate leading into the city. It²⁵ opened for them by itself,²⁶ and they went outside and walked down one narrow street,²⁷ when at once the angel left him. 12:11 When²⁸ Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued²⁹ me from the hand³⁰ of Herod³¹ and from everything the Jewish people³² were expecting to happen.”

¹sn Four squads of soldiers. Each squad was a detachment of four soldiers.

²tn Grk “guard him, planning to bring him out.” The Greek construction continues with a participle (βουλόμενος, boulomeno") and an infinitive (ἀναγαγεῖν, anagagein), but this creates an awkward and lengthy sentence in English. Thus a reference to Herod was introduced as subject and the participle translated as a finite verb (“Herod planned”).

³tn Or “intended”; Grk “wanted.”

⁴tn Grk “to bring him out to the people,” but in this context a public trial (with certain condemnation as the result) is doubtless what Herod planned. L&N 15.176 translates this phrase “planning to bring him up for a public trial after the Passover.”

⁵tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

⁶tn Grk “but earnest prayer was being made by the church to God for him.” The order of the clauses has been rearranged to follow English style, and the somewhat awkward passive “prayer was being made” has been changed to the simpler active verb “were praying.” Luke portrays what follows as an answer to prayer.

⁷tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

⁸tn Grk “two chains, and.” Logically it makes better sense to translate this as a temporal clause, although technically it is a coordinate clause in Greek.

⁹tn Or “were guarding.”

¹⁰tn Grk “And behold.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here. The interjection ἰδού (idou), often difficult to translate into English, expresses the suddenness of the angel’s appearance.

¹¹tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

¹²tn Grk “striking the side of Peter, he awoke him saying.” The term refers to a push or a light tap (BDAG 786 s.v. πατάσσω 1.a). The participle πατάξας (pataxa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹³tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.

¹⁵tn While ζώννυμι (zwnnumi) sometimes means “to dress,” referring to the fastening of the belt or sash as the final act of getting dressed, in this context it probably does mean “put on your belt” since in the conditions of a prison Peter had probably not changed into a different set of clothes to sleep. More likely he had merely removed his belt or sash, which the angel now told him to replace. The translation “put on your belt” is given by L&N 49.14 for this verse. The archaic English “girdle” for the sash or belt has an entirely different meaning today.

¹⁶tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁸tn Or “outer garment.”

¹⁹tn Grk “And going out he followed.”

²⁰tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

²¹tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context, but must be supplied for the modern English reader.

²²tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).

²³tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

²⁴sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

²⁵tn Grk “which.” The relative pronoun (“which”) was replaced by the pronoun “it,” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek.

²⁶tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

²⁷tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

²⁸tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

²⁹tn Or “delivered.”

³⁰sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.

³¹sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

³²sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).