American Standard Version
Acts 12:4
4And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.
Acts 12:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And 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.
- New International Version (NIV)After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
Context of Acts 12:4
2And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread. And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. 5Peter therefore was kept in the prison: but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him. 6And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and guards before the door kept the prison.
Read all of Acts 12Acts 12:4 word by word
ὃν καὶ πιάσας ἔθετο εἰς φυλακὴν παραδοὺς τέσσαρσιν τετραδίοις στρατιωτῶν φυλάσσειν αὐτόν, βουλόμενος μετὰ τὸ πάσχα ἀναγαγεῖν αὐτὸν τῷ λαῷ.¶Read the interlinear
- putτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
- prisonφυλακήphulakē · prison/watch: prisonG5438
- deliveredπαραδίδωμιparadidōmi · to deliverG3860
- fourτέσσαρεςtessares tessara · fourG5064
- soldiersστρατιώτηςstratiōtēs · soldierG4757
- guardφυλάσσωphulassō · to keep/guard: guardG5442
- intendingβούλομαιboulomai · to planG1014
- Passoverπάσχαpascha · Passover lambG3957
- bringἀνάγωanagō · to leadG321
- peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
Cross-references for Acts 12:4
- Acts 4:3And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide.
- Acts 5:18and laid hands on the apostles, and put them in public ward.
- Acts 8:3But Saul laid waste the church, entering into every house, and dragging men and women committed them to prison.
- Matthew 24:9Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake.
- Luke 21:12But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
- Luke 22:33And he said unto him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death.
- John 13:36Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow afterwards.
- John 21:18Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
- Acts 16:23And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
- Matthew 27:64Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worse than the first.
- Acts 4:28to do whatsoever thy hand and thy council foreordained to come to pass.
- Esther 3:6But he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had made known to him the people of Mordecai: wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even the people of Mordecai.
- Proverbs 19:21There are many devices in a man’s heart; But the counsel of Jehovah, that shall stand.
- Proverbs 27:1Boast not thyself of to-morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
- Lamentations 3:37Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?
- Matthew 26:5But they said, Not during the feast, lest a tumult arise among the people.
Commentaries on Acts 12:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Four quaternions of soldiers - That is, sixteen, or four companies of four men each, who had the care of the prison, each company taking in turn one of the four watches of the night. Intending after Easter to bring him forth - , After the passover. Perhaps there never was a more unhappy, not to say absurd, translation than that in our text. But, before I come to explain the word, it is necessary to observe that our term called Easter is not exactly the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4And when he had apprehended him - When he had taken or arrested him. He put him in prison - During the solemnities of this religious festival, it would have been deemed improper to have engaged in the trial of a supposed criminal. The minds of the people were expected to be devoted solely to the services of religion; and hence, Herod chose to retain him in custody until the Passover had ended. To four quaternions of soldiers - A “quaternion” was a company…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Herod had Peter guarded by four squads of soldiers, making it impossible for the apostle to escape (compare 12:6). God was in control, even though the circumstances seemed impossible for humans to overcome (compare 4:27–31; Genesis 18:14; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37; 18:27).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers--that is, to four parties of four each, corresponding to the four Roman watches; two watching in prison and two at the gates, and each party being on duty for the space of one watch. intending after Easter--rather, "after the Passover"; that is, after the whole festival was over. (The word in our King James Version is an ecclesiastical term of later date, and ought not to have been employed here). to bring…Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 12:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Acts 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries