17 and having beckoned to them with the hand to be silent, he declared to them how the Lord brought him out of the prison, and he said, `Declare to James and to the brethren these things;' and having gone forth, he went on to another place.
And he having given him leave, Paul having stood upon the stairs, did beckon with the hand to the people, and there having been a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew dialect, saying:
and out of the multitude they put forward Alexander -- the Jews thrusting him forward -- and Alexander having beckoned with the hand, wished to make defence to the populace,
And Paul having risen, and having beckoned with the hand, said, `Men, Israelites, and those fearing God, hearken:
for before the coming of certain from James, with the nations he was eating, and when they came, he was withdrawing and separating himself, fearing those of the circumcision,
and other of the apostles I did not see, except James, the brother of the Lord.
and on the morrow Paul was going in with us unto James, all the elders also came,
Simon Peter, then, doth beckon to this one, to inquire who he may be concerning whom he speaketh,
James, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ a servant, to the Twelve Tribes who are in the dispersion: Hail!
Come, hear, all ye who fear God, And I recount what he did for my soul.
Jesus, therefore, was no more freely walking among the Jews, but went away thence to the region nigh the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there he tarried with his disciples.
they took up, therefore, stones that they may cast at him, but Jesus hid himself, and went forth out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
And Jesus was walking after these things in Galilee, for he did not wish to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him,
`And whenever they may persecute you in this city, flee to the other, for verily I say to you, ye may not have completed the cities of Israel till the Son of Man may come.
Doing judgment for the oppressed, Giving bread to the hungry.
They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men, And they sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving, And recount His works with singing.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 12
Commentary on Acts 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
In this chapter we have the story,
Act 12:1-4
Ever since the conversion of Paul, we have heard no more of the agency of the priests in persecuting the saints at Jerusalem; perhaps that wonderful change wrought upon him, and the disappointment it gave to their design upon the Christians at Damascus, had somewhat mollified them, and brought them under the check of Gamaliel's advice-to let those men alone, and see what would be the issue; but here the storm arises from another point. The civil power, not now, as usual (for aught that appears) stirred up by the ecclesiastics, acts by itself in the persecution. But Herod, though originally of an Edomite family, yet seems to have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion; for Josephus says he was zealous for the Mosaic rites, a bigot for the ceremonies. He was not only (as Herod Antipas was) tetrarch of Galilee, but had also the government of Judea committed to him by Claudius the emperor, and resided most at Jerusalem, where he was at this time. Three things we are here told he did-
Act 12:5-19
We have here an account of Peter's deliverance out of prison, by which the design of Herod against him was defeated, and his life preserved for further service, and a stop given to this bloody torrent. Now,
Act 12:20-25
In these verses we have,