1 Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians.
2 And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.
3 And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he went on to take Peter in addition. This was at the time of the feast of unleavened bread.
4 And having taken him, he put him in prison, with four bands of armed men to keep watch over him; his purpose being to take him out to the people after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison: but the church made strong prayer to God for him.
6 And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison.
7 And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands.
8 Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me.
9 And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision.
10 And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away.
11 And when Peter came to his senses he said, Now, truly, I am certain that the Lord has sent his angel and taken me out of the hands of Herod, against all the hopes of the Jews.
12 And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer.
13 And he gave a blow on the door, and a young girl came to it, named Rhoda.
14 And hearing the voice of Peter, in her joy she went running, without opening the door, to say that Peter was outside.
15 And they said to her, You are off your head. But still she said, with decision, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel.
16 But Peter went on giving blows on the door: and when it was open and they saw him, they were full of wonder.
17 But he made a sign to them with his hand to be quiet, and gave them an account of how the Lord had taken him out of prison. And he said, Give the news to James and the brothers. And then he went away.
18 Now when it was day, the armed men were greatly troubled about what had become of Peter.
19 And Herod, when he sent for him, and he was not there, after questioning the watchmen, gave orders that they were to be put to death. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea for a time.
20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon: and they came to him, all together, and having made friends with Blastus, the controller of the king's house, they made a request for peace, because their country was dependent on the king's country for its food.
21 And on the day which had been fixed, Herod, dressed in his robes and seated in his place, made a public statement to them.
22 And the people, with loud cries, said, It is the voice of a god, not of a man.
23 And straight away the angel of the Lord sent a disease on him, because he did not give the glory to God: and his flesh was wasted away by worms, and so he came to his end.
24 But the word of the Lord went on increasing.
25 And Barnabas and Saul came back from Jerusalem, when their work was ended, taking with them John named Mark.
1 En ce même temps, le roi Hérode se mit à maltraiter quelques-uns de l'Église.
2 Il fit mourir par l'épée Jacques, frère de Jean;
3 Et voyant que cela était agréable aux Juifs, il fit aussi arrêter Pierre.
4 C'était pendant les jours des pains sans levain. L'ayant donc fait arrêter, il le fit mettre en prison, et le donna à garder à quatre escouades, de quatre soldats chacune, voulant l'exposer au supplice devant le peuple, après la Pâque.
5 Pierre était donc gardé dans la prison; mais l'Église faisait sans cesse des prières à Dieu pour lui.
6 Et la nuit d'avant le jour où Hérode devait l'envoyer au supplice, Pierre dormait entre deux soldats, lié de deux chaînes; et des gardes devant la porte, gardaient la prison.
7 Et voici, l'ange du Seigneur survint, une lumière resplendit dans la prison, et l'ange, poussant Pierre par le côté, l'éveilla, en disant: Lève-toi promptement. Et les chaînes tombèrent de ses mains.
8 Et l'ange lui dit: Ceins-toi, et chausse tes sandales; et il le fit. Puis l'ange lui dit: Enveloppe-toi de ton manteau et suis-moi.
9 Et Pierre, étant sorti, le suivait, sans savoir que ce que l'ange faisait se fît réellement, mais il croyait qu'il avait une vision.
10 Et quand ils eurent passé la première et la seconde garde, ils vinrent à la porte de fer, qui conduit dans la ville, et elle s'ouvrit à eux d'elle-même. Et étant sortis, ils parcoururent une rue; et aussitôt l'ange se retira d'avec lui.
11 Et Pierre, étant revenu à lui, dit: Maintenant je sais certainement que le Seigneur a envoyé son ange, et qu'il m'a délivré de la main d'Hérode, et de tout ce que le peuple juif attendait.
12 Et s'étant reconnu, il alla à la maison de Marie, mère de Jean, surnommé Marc, où plusieurs personnes étaient assemblées et priaient.
13 Quand il eut frappé à la porte d'entrée, une servante, nommée Rhode (Rose), s'avança, pour écouter.
14 Et ayant reconnu la voix de Pierre, de la joie qu'elle en eut, elle n'ouvrit point le porche; mais elle courut annoncer que Pierre était devant le porche.
15 Et ils lui dirent: Tu es folle. Mais elle assurait que la chose était ainsi; et ils dirent: C'est son messager.
16 Cependant, Pierre continuait à frapper, et quand ils eurent ouvert, ils le virent, et furent ravis hors d'eux-mêmes.
17 Mais lui, leur faisant signe de la main de se taire, leur raconta comment le Seigneur l'avait fait sortir de la prison; et il dit: Faites savoir cela à Jacques et à nos frères; après quoi il sortit, et s'en alla dans un autre lieu.
18 Quand il fut jour, il y eut un grand trouble parmi les soldats, pour savoir ce que Pierre était devenu.
19 Et Hérode, l'ayant fait chercher sans qu'on pût le trouver, fit le procès aux gardes, et il commanda qu'on les menât au supplice. Puis il descendit de Judée à Césarée, où il s'arrêta.
20 Or, Hérode était en hostilité avec les Tyriens et les Sidoniens. Mais ils vinrent le trouver d'un commun accord, et ayant gagné Blastus, chambellan du roi, ils demandèrent la paix, parce que leur pays tirait sa subsistance de celui du roi.
21 Au jour fixé, Hérode, revêtu de ses habits royaux, assis sur son trône, leur fit un discours éloquent.
22 Et le peuple s'écria: C'est la voix de Dieu, et non point d'un homme!
23 Mais à l'instant l'ange du Seigneur le frappa, parce qu'il n'avait pas donné gloire à Dieu; et il mourut rongé des vers.
24 Or la Parole du Seigneur croissait, et se répandait.
25 Et Barnabas et Saul, après s'être acquittés de leur ministère, s'en retournèrent de Jérusalem, ayant aussi pris avec eux Jean, surnommé Marc.