Acts 12

Acts · Chapter 12

Acts 12:21

1Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.2And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.3And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)4And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.5Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.6And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.7And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.8And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.9And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.10When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.11And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the LORD hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.12And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.13And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.14And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.15And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.16But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.17But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.18Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.19And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.20And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.21And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.22And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.23And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.24But the word of God grew and multiplied.25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
21And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Greek words

EnglishGreekSay itStrong'sMeaning
On the appointedΤακτῇTaktēaG5002
appointed

τακτός (taktos) τακτός, -ή, -όν (τάσσω), [in LXX: Job.12:5 (שַׁאֲנָן) * ;] ordered, fixed, stated: ἡμέρα, Act.12:21,† (AS)

nowδὲdeG1161
then

δέ (de) δέ (before vowels δ᾽; on the general neglect of the elision in NT, see WH, App., 146; Tdf., Pr., 96), post-positive conjunctive particle; 1. copulative, but, in the next place, and, now (Abbott, JG, 104): Mat.1:2ff., 2Co.6:15, 16, 2Pe.1:5-7; in repetition for emphasis, Rom.3:21, 22, 9:30, 1Co.2:6, Gal.2:2, Php.2:8; in transition to something new, Mat.1:18, 2:19, Luk.13:1, Jhn.7:14, Act.6:1, Rom.8:28, 1Co.7:1 8:1, al.; in explanatory parenthesis or addition, Jhn.3:19, Rom.5:8, 1Co.1:12, Eph.2:4, 5:32, al.; ὡς δέ, Jhn.2:9; καὶ . . . δέ, but also, Mat.10:18, Luk.1:76, Jhn.6:51, Rom.11:23, al.; …

dayἡμέρᾳhēmeraG2250
day

ἡμέρα (hēmera) ἡμέρα, -ας, ἡ, [in LXX chiefly (very freq.) for יוֹם ;] day; 1. as distinct from night: genitive ἡμέρας, by day (WM, §30, 11), Rev.21:25; ἡ. κ. νυκτός (ν. κ. ̔ἡ.), Act.9:24, 1Th.2:9, 2Th.3:8, Rev.4:8 (BL, §36, 13); ἡμέρας μέσης, at mid-day, Act.26:13; accusative durat., τ. ἡμέρας, Luk.21:37; ὅλην τὴν ἡ., Rom.8:36; ἐν ἡμέρα, Jhn.11:9, Rom.13:13; ἡμέρας ὁδός, a day's journey, Luk.2:44; ἡ. γίνεται, Lk 4:42 22:66; κλίνει, Luk.9:12, al.; metaphorically, Jhn.9:4, Rom.13:12, 1Th.5:4, 5 8, 2Pe.1:19. …

HerodἩρῴδηςHērōdēsG2264I
Herod

Ἡρώδης (Hērōdēs) Ἡρῴδης (Rec. -ώδης), -ου, ὁ Herod; 1. Herod the Great: Mat.2:1-23, Act.23:35. 2. Herod Antipas (ὁ τετραάρχης, Mat.14:1): Mat.14:1, 3 14:6, Mrk.6:1-56, Mrk.8:15, Luk.1:5 3:1, 19 8:3 9:7, 9 13:31, 23, Act.4:27 13:1. 3. Herod Agrippa I: Act.12:1, 6 12:11, 19 12:21 (cf. Ἀγρίππας (II)).† (AS)

having put onἐνδυσάμενοςendusamenosG1746
to put on

ἐνδύω (enduō) ἐν-δύω (ἐνδύνω, 2Ti.3:6), [in LXX chiefly for לָבַשׁ ;] 1. with accusative of person(s), Mat.27:28 (WH, mg., R, mg.); with dupl. accusative, Mat.27:31, Mrk.15:20, Luk.15:22; mid., to put on oneself, be clothed with: with accusative of thing(s), Mat.6:25, Mrk.6:9, Luk.8:27 12:22, Act.12:21; ptcp., Mat.22:11, Mrk.1:6, 2Co.5:3, Rev.1:13 15:6 19:14; of armour (figuratively): Rom.13:12, Eph.6:11, 14, 1Th.5:8; metaphorically, δύναμιν, Luk.24:49; ἀφθαρσίαν, ἀθανασίαν, 1Co.15:53-54; τ. καινὸν ἄνθρωπον, Eph 4:24, Col.3:10; σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, Col.3:12; Ἰησ. Χριστόν, Rom.13:14, Gal.3:27, …

apparelἐσθῆταesthētaG2066
clothing

ἐσθής (esthēs) ἐσθής, -ῆτος, ἡ (ἕννυμι, to clothe; hence, ἐσθής, Lk, ll with, Elz.) [in LXX: 1Es.8:71 Est.8:73, 2Ma.8:35 2Mac 11:8 * ;] clothing, raiment: Luk.23:11 24:4, Act.10:30 12:21, Jas.2:2-3.† (AS)

royalβασιλικὴνbasilikēnG0937
royal

βασιλικός (basilikos) βασιλικός, -ή, -όν (βασιλεύς), [in LXX for מֶלֶךְ and its cognates ;] royal, belonging to a king: χώρα, Act 12:20; ἐσθής, Act.12:21; νόμος β., a supreme law, "a law which governs other laws and so has a specially regal character" (Hort), or because made by a king (LAE, p. 3673), Jas.2:8; τις, one in the service of a king, a courtier, Jhn.4:46, 49 (WH, mg., βασιλίσκος).† (AS)

andκαὶkaiG2532
and

καί (kai) καί, conj., and I. Copulative. 1. Connecting single words; (a) in general: Mat.2:18, 16:1, Mrk.2:15, Luk.8:15, Heb.1:1, al. mult.; repeated before each of the terms in a series, Mat.23:23, Luk.14:21, Rom.7:12, 9:4, al. (b) connecting numerals (WM, §37, 4): Jhn.2:20, Act.13:20; (with) joining terms which are not mutually exclusive, as the part with the whole: Mat.8:33, 26:59, Mrk.16:17, Act.5:29, al. 2. Connecting clauses and sentences: Mat.3:12, Act.5:21, al. mult.; esp. …

having satκαθίσαςkathisasG2523
to seat

καθίζω (kathizō) καθ-ίζω [in LXX chiefly for יָשַׁב ;] 1. causal, to make to sit down, set, appoint: Act.2:30, 1Co.6:4, Eph.1:20. 2. Intrans., to sit down, be seated, sit: Mat.5:1, Mrk.9:35, Luk.7:15, Jhn.8:2, al.; with inf. tel., 1Co.10:7; before εἰς, 2Th.2:4; ἐπί, with accusative, Mrk.11:2, Jhn.12:14; id. with genitive, Jhn.19:13, Act.12:21; ὧδε, Mrk.14:32; αὐτοῦ, Mat.26:36; ἐν δεξιᾷ, Heb.1:3; ἐκ δεξιῶν, Mat.20:21, 23; ἐν, Rev.3:21; καθίσας pleonastic (M, Pro.14:1-35; Dalman, Words, 22), Mat.13:48, Luk.5:3 14:31 16:6; of settling in a place (ἐς χωρίον, Thuc., iv, 93), before ἐν, Luk.24:49 (cf. ἀνα-, ἐπι-, …

onἐπὶepiG1909
upon/to/against

ἐπί (epi) ἐπί (before a smooth breathing ἐπ᾽, before a rough breathing ἐφ᾽), prep. with genitive, dative, accusative (accusative most frequently in NT), with primary sense of superposition, on, upon. I. C. genitive, 1. of place, answering the question, where? …

throneβήματοςbēmatosG0968
judgement seat

βῆμα (bēma) βῆμα, -τος, τό (βαίνω), [in LXX: Deu.2:5 (מִדְרָךְ), Neh.8:4 (מִגְדָּל), I Est.9:42, Sir.19:30 45:9, 2Ma.13:26 * ;] 1. a step, stride, pace: Act.7:5. 2. a raised place, a platform reached by steps, originally that in the Pnyx at Athens from which orations were made; frequently of the tribune or tribunal of a Roman magistrate or ruler: Mat.27:19, Jhn.19:13, Act.12:21, 18:12, 16, 17 25:6, 10, 17; β. τοῦ θεοῦ, Rom.14:10; τ. Χριστοῦ, 2Co.5:10. † (AS)

was making an addressἐδημηγόρειedēmēgoreiG1215
to give a speech

δημηγορέω (dēmēgoreō) δημηγορέω, -ῶ (δῆμος, ἀγορεύω, to speak in the assembly), [in LXX: Pro.24:66 (30:31), 4Ma.5:15 * ;] to deliver an oration: Act.12:21.† (AS)

toπρὸςprosG4314
to/with

πρός (pros) πρός, prep. with genitive, dative, accusative I. I. C. genitive, of motion from a place, from the side of, hence metaphorically, in the interests of, Act.27:34 (cf. Page, in l.). II. II. C. dative, of local proximity, hard by, near, at: Mrk.5:11, Luk.19:37, Jhn.18:16 20:11, 12 Rev.1:13. III. C. accusative, of motion or direction towards a place or object, to, towards. 1. Of place, …

them.αὐτούς.autousG0846
it/s/he

αὐτός (autos) αὐτός, -ή, -ό, determinative pron., in late Gk. much more frequently than in cl. (WM, 178f.; Jannaris, HGG, §1399). 1. Emphatic (so always in nom. exc. when preceded by the art., see infr., iii); (1) self (ipse), expressing opposition, distinction, exclusion, etc., αὐ. ἐκχυθήσεται, Luk.5:37; αὐ. ἐγινώσκεν, Jhn.2:25; αὐ.ὑμεῖς, Jhn.3:28; καὶ αὐ. ἐγώ, Rom.15:14; αὐ. Ἰησοῦς, Jhn.2:24; αὐ. καὶ οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ, Mrk.2:25; ὑμεῖς αὐ., Mrk.6:31; esp. (as freq in cl.) αὐ. ὁ, Mat.3:4, Mrk.6:17, Jhn.16:27, 1Th.3:11, al.; in late Gk., sometimes weakened, ἐν αὐτῇ τ. ὥρᾳ, in that hour, Luk.10:21 (M, Pr., 91; …

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.