Acts 12:5-12

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 12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt¹¹ and put on your sandals.” Peter¹² did so. Then the angel¹³ said to him, “Put on your cloak¹⁴ and follow me.” 12:9 Peter¹⁵ went out¹⁶ and followed him;¹⁷ he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real,¹⁸ but thought he was seeing a vision. 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards,¹⁹ they came to the iron²⁰ gate leading into the city. It²¹ opened for them by itself,²² and they went outside and walked down one narrow street,²³ when at once the angel left him. 12:11 When²⁴ Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued²⁵ me from the hand²⁶ of Herod²⁷ and from everything the Jewish people²⁸ were expecting to happen.”

12:12 When Peter²⁹ realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark,³⁰ where many people had gathered together and were praying.

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.

¹¹tn 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.

¹²tn Grk “He”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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

¹⁴tn Or “outer garment.”

¹⁵tn Grk “And going out he followed.”

¹⁶tn Grk “Peter going out followed him.” The participle ἐξελθών (exelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁷tn 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.

¹⁸tn Grk “what was done through the angel was a reality” (see BDAG 43 s.v. ἀληθής 3).

¹⁹tn Or perhaps, “guard posts.”

²⁰sn The iron gate shows how important security was here. This door was more secure than one made of wood (which would be usual).

²¹tn 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.

²²tn The Greek term here, αὐτομάτη (automath), indicates something that happens without visible cause (BDAG 152 s.v. αὐτόματος).

²³tn Or “lane,” “alley” (BDAG 907 s.v. ῥύμη).

²⁴tn 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.

²⁵tn Or “delivered.”

²⁶sn Here the hand of Herod is a metaphor for Herod’s power or control.

²⁷sn King Herod was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod I (Herod the Great).

²⁸sn Luke characterizes the opposition here as the Jewish people, including their leadership (see 12:3).

²⁹tn Grk “he”; the referent (Peter) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁰tn Grk “John who was also called Mark.”

sn John Mark becomes a key figure in Acts 12:25; 13:5, 13; 15:37-39.