19 and Herod having sought for him, and not having found, having examined the guards, did command `them' to be led away to punishment, and having gone down from Judea to Cesarea, he was abiding `there'.
and the jailor having come out of sleep, and having seen the doors of the prison open, having drawn a sword, was about to kill himself, supposing the prisoners to be fled,
And while they are going on, lo, certain of the watch having come to the city, told to the chief priests all the things that happened, and having been gathered together with the elders, counsel also having taken, they gave much money to the soldiers, saying, `Say ye, that his disciples having come by night, stole him -- we being asleep; and if this be heard by the governor, we will persuade him, and you keep free from anxiety.' And they, having received the money, did as they were taught, and this account was spread abroad among Jews till this day.
And certain days having passed, Agrippa the king, and Bernice, came down to Caesarea saluting Festus,
and on the morrow Paul and his company having gone forth, we came to Cesarea, and having entered into the house of Philip the evangelist -- who is of the seven -- we remained with him,
whom also having seized, he did put in prison, having delivered `him' to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people.
and Philip was found at Azotus, and passing through, he was proclaiming good news to all the cities, till his coming to Cesarea.
And David abideth in the wilderness, in fortresses, and abideth in the hill-country, in the wilderness of Ziph; and Saul seeketh him all the days, and God hath not given him into his hand.
Then Herod, having seen that he was deceived by the mages, was very wroth, and having sent forth, he slew all the male children in Beth-Lehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under, according to the time that he inquired exactly from the mages.
And on their having withdrawn, lo, a messenger of the Lord doth appear in a dream to Joseph, saying, `Having risen, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and be thou there till I may speak to thee, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him.'
and the thing that the king is asking `is' precious, and others are there not that do shew it before the king, save the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.' Therefore the king hath been angry and very wroth, and hath said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon; And the sentence hath gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
And the king commandeth Jerahmeel son of Hammelek, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Jehovah doth hide them.
And Mordecai turneth back unto the gate of the king, and Haman hath been hastened unto his house mourning, and with covered head,
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,