Acts 12:8-11

12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt ¹  and put on your sandals.” Peter ²  did so. Then the angel ³  said to him, “Put on your cloak ⁴  and follow me.” 12:9 Peter ⁵  went out ⁶  and followed him; ⁷  he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real, ⁸  but thought he was seeing a vision. 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, ⁹  they came to the iron ¹⁰  gate leading into the city. It ¹¹  opened for them by itself, ¹²  and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, ¹³  when at once the angel left him. 12:11 When ¹⁴  Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued ¹⁵  me from the hand ¹⁶  of Herod ¹⁷  and from everything the Jewish people ¹⁸  were expecting to happen.”

Acts 12:23

12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord ¹⁹  struck ²⁰  Herod ²¹  down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. ²² 

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¹ tn 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.

² tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ tn Or “outer garment.”

⁵ tn Grk “And going out he followed.”

⁶ tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁷ tn 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.

⁸ tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).

⁹ tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

¹⁰ sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

¹¹ tn 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.

¹² tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

¹³ tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

¹⁴ tn 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.

¹⁵ tn Or “delivered.”

¹⁶ sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.

¹⁷ sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

¹⁸ sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).

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

²⁰ sn On being struck…down by an angel, see Acts 23:3; 1 Sam 25:28; 2 Sam 12:15; 2 Kgs 19:35; 2 Chr 13:20; 2 Macc 9:5.

²¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² sn He was eaten by worms and died. Josephus, Ant. 19.8.2 (19.343-352), states that Herod Agrippa I died at Caesarea in a.d. 44. The account by Josephus, while not identical to Luke’s account, is similar in many respects: On the second day of a festival, Herod Agrippa appeared in the theater with a robe made of silver. When it sparkled in the sun, the people cried out flatteries and declared him to be a god. The king, carried away by the flattery, saw an owl (an omen of death) sitting on a nearby rope, and immediately was struck with severe stomach pains. He was carried off to his house and died five days later. The two accounts can be reconciled without difficulty, since while Luke states that Herod was immediately struck down by an angel, his death could have come several days later. The mention of worms with death adds a humiliating note to the scene. The formerly powerful ruler had been thoroughly reduced to nothing (cf. Jdt 16:17; 2 Macc 9:9; cf. also Josephus, Ant. 17.6.5 [17.168-170], which details the sickness which led to Herod the Great’s death).