1At that time Herod the king caught some of the church people and troubled them. 2He killed James the brother of John with a long knife or sword. 3He saw that this pleased the leaders of the Jews, so he caught Peter also. This happened at the Jewish feast which they had each year to remember leaving Egypt. (It was called the Passover Feast.) 4After Herod had caught Peter, he put him in prison. He told four groups of soldiers to guard him. There were four soldiers in each group. He planned to bring him out for trial before the people. But he would do it after the Passover Feast. 5So Peter was kept in prison. And the church people asked God to help him. 6The night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. He was tied to them with two chains. Guards were at the door of the prison. 7An angel from the Lord came to him and a light shone in the prison. He hit Peters side and woke him up. Be quick, he said. Get up! His chains fell off his hands. 8Put on your belt and your shoes, said the angel. Peter did so. And now, said the angel, put on your coat and follow me. 9Peter followed him out. He did not know that what the angel had done was true. He thought he was dreaming. 10They passed the first and the second guard. Then they came to the iron gate out to the city. It opened for them by itself. So they went all the way down a street. Then the angel left him. 11When Peter came to himself, he said, Now I know truly that the Lord has sent his angel. He has saved me from Herod and from all that the Jewish leaders are hoping will happen to me. 12And when he thought about this, he went to Marys house. Mary was John Marks mother. Many people were meeting there, talking to God about Peter . 13Peter knocked at the outside door. A young servant woman named Rhoda went to answer. 14When she knew it was Peters voice, she was very glad. She did not open the door. But she ran in and told the people that Peter was at the door. 15They said, You are crazy. But she kept on saying that Peter was really there. Then they said, It must be his angel. 16Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were very much surprised. 17He put out his hand for them to be quiet. Then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, Tell James and the brothers about this. Then he went away to another place. 18In the morning the soldiers tried hard to find Peter. 19Herod had looked for him and had not found him. So he questioned the guards and ordered them to be taken away and killed. And then Peter went from Judea to Caesarea to live for a while. 20Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But they got Blastus to speak to the king for them. Blastus was one of the men who worked in the kings house. They came to Herod together. They wanted to make peace with him because their country got its food from his country. 21On a certain day Herod put on his kings robes and sat on his chair and made a speech. 22The people shouted, A god is talking to us. He is not a man. 23At once an angel from God put a bad sickness on Herod because he did not give God the praise. Worms ate him and he died. 24The word of God spread further and further and more people believed. 25Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had finished their work. They brought John Mark with them.