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THE MESSAGE

Acts 12:1

That's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John's brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Herod;   Jerusalem;   Persecution;   Rulers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agrippa;   Herods of the New Testament;   Men-Pleasers;   Pleasing Men;   Popularity Sought;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Persecution;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Herod;   James;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Herod;   James the apostle;   Judea;   Martyr;   Peter;   Rome;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Death of Christ;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Agrippa I.;   Drusilla;   Herod Agrippa I.;   James;   Prayer;   Vision;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Acts of the Apostles;   Berenice;   Herod;   James;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Acts;   Hebrews;   Herod;   James;   James, the Letter;   Jews in the New Testament;   Laying on of Hands;   Persecution in the Bible;   Squad;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Acts of the Apostles;   Chronology of the New Testament;   Herod;   Mark, Gospel According to;   Peter;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Church;   Dates;   Hand;   Herod;   James and John, the Sons of Zebedee;   King;   Metaphor;   Peter;   Political Conditions;   Time;   Trial-At-Law;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Herod, Family of;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - James;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Church;   Herod;   James;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Berni'ce,;   Her'od;   James;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Christianity;   James;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bernice;   Claudius;   Gain;   House;   James;   Vex;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Bashan;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church,
King James Version (1611)
Now about that time, Herode the King stretched foorth his hands, to vexe certaine of the Church.
King James Version
Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
English Standard Version
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.
New American Standard Bible
Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church, to do them harm.
New Century Version
During that same time King Herod began to mistreat some who belonged to the church.
Amplified Bible
Now at that time Herod [Agrippa I] the king [of the Jews] arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to harm them.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to harm them.
Berean Standard Bible
About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
Contemporary English Version
At that time King Herod caused terrible suffering for some members of the church.
Complete Jewish Bible
It was around this time that King Herod began arresting and persecuting certain members of the Messianic community;
Darby Translation
At that time Herod the king laid his hands on some of those of the assembly to do them hurt,
Easy-to-Read Version
During this same time, King Herod began to do harm to some of those who were part of the church.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Nowe about that time, Herod the King stretched forth his hands to vexe certaine of the Church,
George Lamsa Translation
NOW at that very time Herod the king surnamed A-grip''pa seized some of the people of the church to oppress them.
Good News Translation
About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church.
Lexham English Bible
Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm them.
Literal Translation
And at that time Herod the king put forth the hands to oppress some of those of the assembly.
American Standard Version
Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church.
Bible in Basic English
Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians.
Hebrew Names Version
Now about that time, Herod the king stretched out his hands to oppress some of the assembly.
International Standard Version
About that time, Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church and mistreated them.
Etheridge Translation
BUT at that time Herodes the king, he who was surnamed Agripos, stretched forth hands upon some who were in the church, to ill-treat them.
Murdock Translation
And at that time Herod the king, who was surnamed Agrippa, laid hands on some of the church, to maltreat them.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
At the same tyme Herode the king stretched foorth his handes to vexe certayne of the Churche.
English Revised Version
Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church.
World English Bible
Now about that time, Herod the king put forth his hands to oppress some of the assembly.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
About that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to afflict a certain of the church.
Weymouth's New Testament
Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members of the Church, in order to ill-treat them;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And in the same tyme Eroude the king sente power, to turmente sum men of the chirche.
Update Bible Version
Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church.
Webster's Bible Translation
Now about that time, Herod the king stretched forth [his] hands to afflict certain of the church.
New English Translation
About that time King Herod laid hands on some from the church to harm them.
New King James Version
Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.
New Living Translation
About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church.
New Life Bible
At that time King Herod used his power to make it hard for the Christians in the church.
New Revised Standard
About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, in the course of that season, Herod the king thrust forth his hands to harm some of them of the assembly, -
Douay-Rheims Bible
And at the same time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands, to afflict some of the church.
Revised Standard Version
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
In that tyme Herode the kynge stretched forthe his handes to vexe certayne of the congregacion.
Young's Literal Translation
And about that time, Herod the king put forth his hands, to do evil to certain of those of the assembly,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
At the same tyme layed kynge Herode handes vpon certayne of the congregacion, to vexe them.
Mace New Testament (1729)
About that time, king Herod Agrippa began to persecute some of the church.
Simplified Cowboy Version
It was at this time that King Herod Agrippa began to cause problems in the church.

Contextual Overview

1That's when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John's brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Cir, am 4048, ad 44

stretched forth his hands: or, began, Acts 4:30, Acts 9:31, Luke 22:53

to vex: Matthew 10:17, Matthew 10:18, Matthew 24:9, John 15:20, John 16:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 37:22 - lay 1 Samuel 17:36 - seeing Job 15:25 - he stretcheth Psalms 2:2 - kings Psalms 55:20 - put Psalms 92:8 - art most Jeremiah 26:23 - who Matthew 2:15 - until Mark 3:17 - James Mark 13:9 - take Luke 11:49 - and some Luke 21:12 - before 1 Thessalonians 2:14 - even

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
I'll make you a great nation and bless you. I'll make you famous; you'll be a blessing. I'll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I'll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you."
Genesis 12:10
Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine. As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, "Look. We both know that you're a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they're going to say, ‘Aha! That's his wife!' and kill me. But they'll let you live. Do me a favor: tell them you're my sister. Because of you, they'll welcome me and let me live."
Genesis 15:7
God continued, "I'm the same God who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees and gave you this land to own."
Nehemiah 9:7
You're the one, God , the God who chose Abram And brought him from Ur of the Chaldees and changed his name to Abraham. You found his heart to be steady and true to you and signed a covenant with him, A covenant to give him the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, The Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites, —to give it to his descendants. And you kept your word because you are righteous.
Hebrews 11:8
By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now about that time,.... That the famine was in Judea, and Saul and Barnabas were sent thither with what the church at Antioch had collected.

Herod the king; not Herod the great that slew the infants at Bethlehem, nor Herod Antipas that beheaded John, but Herod Agrippa; and so the Syriac version adds here, "who is surnamed Agrippa"; he was a grandson of Herod the great, and the son of Aristobulus: this prince

stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church; Beza's ancient copy adds, "in Judea": it seems to be the church at Jerusalem; perhaps some of the principal members of them; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, the rulers of the house of God. It is scarcely credible that he should lay hands on any of them himself in person; but it is very likely he encouraged his soldiers, or his servants, to abuse them, reproach them, strike and buffet them, as they met with them in the streets; or when at worship, might disturb them, and break them up.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Now about that time - That is, during the time that the famine existed, or the time when Barnabas and Saul went up to Jerusalem. This was probably about the fifth or sixth year of the reign of Claudius, not far from 47 ad.

Herod the king - This was Herod Agrippa. The Syriac so renders it expressly, and the chronology requires us so to understand it. He was a grandson of Herod the Great, and one of the sons of Aristobulus, whom Herod put to death (Josephus, Antiq., 18, 5). Herod the Great left three sons, between whom his kingdom was divided - Archelaus, Philip, and Antipas. See the notes on Matthew 2:19. To Philip was left Iturea and Trachonitis. See Luke 3:1. To Antipas, Galilee and Perea; and to Archclaus, Judea, Idumea, and Samaria. Archclaus, being accused of cruelty, was banished by Augustus to Vienna in Gaul, and Judea was reduced to a province, and united with Syria. When Philip died, this region was granted by the Emperor Caligula to Herod Agrippa. Herod Antipas was driven as an exile also into Gaul, and then into Spain, and Herod Agrippa received also his tetrarchy. In the reign of Claudius also, the dominions of Herod Agrippa were still further enlarged. When Caligula was slain, he was at Rome, and having ingratiated himself into the favor of Claudius, he conferred on him also Judea and Samaria, so that his dominions were equal in extent to those of his grandfather, Herod the Great. See Josephus, Antiq., book 19, chapter 5, section 1.

Stretched forth his hands - A figurative expression, denoting that “he laid his hands on them, or that he endeavored violently to oppress the church.”

To vex - To injure, to do evil to - κακῶσαί kakōsai.

Certain - Some of the church. Who they were the writer immediately specifies.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XII.

Herod persecutes the Christians, 1.

Kills James, 2.

And casts Peter into prison, 3, 4.

The Church makes incessant prayer for his deliverance, 5.

An angel of God opens the prison doors and leads him out, 6-10.

Peter rejoices, and comes to the house of Mary, where many were

praying, and declares how he was delivered, 11-17.

The soldiers who kept the prison are examined by Herod, and he

commands them to be put to death, 18, 19.

Herod is enraged against the people of Tyre, but is appeased by

their submission, 20.

He makes an oration to the people, receives idolatrous praises,

and an angel of the Lord unites him, and he dies a miserable

death, 21-23.

The word of God increases, 24.

Barnabas and Saul, having fulfilled their ministry, return from

Jerusalem accompanied by John Mark, 25.

NOTES ON CHAP. XII.

Verse Acts 12:1. Herod the king — This was Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus, and grandson of Herod the Great; he was nephew to Herod Antipas, who beheaded John they Baptist, and brother to Herodias. He was made king by the Emperor Caligula, and was put in possession of all the territories formerly held by his uncle Philip and by Lysanias; viz. Iturea, Trachonitis, Abilene, with Gaulonitis, Batanaea, and Penias. To these the Emperor Claudius afterwards added Judea and Samaria; which were nearly all the dominions possessed by his grandfather, Herod the Great. See Luke 3:1; see also an account of the Herod family, see in Clarke's note on "Matthew 2:1".

To vex certain of the Church. — That is, to destroy its chief ornaments and supports.


 
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