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ACTS 13
page 993
Peter’s Miraculous Escape from Prison
6 The night before Peter was to be placed on
trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains
between two soldiers. Others stood guard at
the prison gate. 7 Suddenly, there was a bright
light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood
before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to
awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the
chains fell off his wrists. 8 Then the angel told
him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.”
And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow
me,” the angel ordered.
9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel.
But all the time he thought it was a vision. He
didn’t realize it was actually happening. 10 They
passed the first and second guard posts and
came to the iron gate leading to the city, and
this opened for them all by itself. So they passed
through and started walking down the street,
and then the angel suddenly left him.
11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really
true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and
saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish
leaders* had planned to do to me!”
12 When he realized this, he went to the home
of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many
were gathered for prayer. 13 He knocked at the
door in the gate, and a servant girl named
Rhoda came to open it. 14 When she recognized
Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead
of opening the door, she ran back inside and
told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When
she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Pe ter continued knocking.
When they finally opened the door and saw
him, they were amazed. 17 He motioned for them
to quiet down and told them how the Lord had
led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other
brothers what happened,” he said. And then he
went to another place.
18 At dawn there was a great commotion
among the soldiers about what had happened
to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough
search for him. When he couldn’t be found,
Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced
them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to
stay in Caesarea for a while.
The Death of Herod Agrippa
20 Now Herod was very angry with the people
of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to
make peace with him because their cities were
dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The
delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s
personal assistant, 21 and an appointment with
Herod was granted. When the day arrived,
12:11 Or the Jewish people. 12:25 Or mission, they returned
to Jerusalem. Other manuscripts read mission, they returned
from Jerusalem; still others read mission, they returned from
Jerusalem to Antioch. 13:1a Greek who was called Niger.
13:1b Greek Herod the tetrarch.
Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne,
and made a speech to them. 22 The people gave
him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of
a god, not of a man!”
23 Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck
Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the
people’s worship instead of giving the glory to
God. So he was consumed with worms and died.
24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to
spread, and there were many new believers.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their
mission to Jerusalem, they returned,* taking
John Mark with them.
Barnabas and Saul Are Commissioned
Among the prophets and teachers of the
church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”*), Lucius
(from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas*), and Saul. 2 One day
as these men were worshiping the Lord and
fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas
and Saul for the special work to which I have
called them.” 3 So after more fasting and prayer,
the men laid their hands on them and sent them
on their way.
13
Paul’s First Missionary Journey
4 So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the
Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of
Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. 5 There, in the town of Salamis, they went
to the Jewish synagogues and preached the
word of God. John Mark went with them as their
assistant.
6 Afterward they traveled from town to town
across the entire island until finally they
reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He had
attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor
invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he
wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas,
the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek),
interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was
trying to keep the governor from believing.
9 Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with
the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in
the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil,
full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy
of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 Watch now, for
the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon
you, and you will be struck blind. You will not
see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist
and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he
began groping around begging for someone to
take his hand and lead him.
12 When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.