Acts 12:5-7

12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly¹ praying to God for him.² 12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial,³ Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while⁴ guards in front of the door were keeping watch⁵ over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly⁶ an angel of the Lord⁷ appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck⁸ Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s⁹ wrists.¹⁰

¹tn Or “constantly.” This term also appears in Luke 22:14 and Acts 26:7.

²tn 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.

³tn Grk “was going to bring him out,” but the upcoming trial is implied. See Acts 12:4.

⁴tn 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.

⁵tn Or “were guarding.”

⁶tn 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.

⁷tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 5:19.

⁸tn 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.

⁹tn Grk “his”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰tn Grk “the hands,” but the wrist was considered a part of the hand.