Berean Standard Bible
Acts 12:4
4He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
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
2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him. 6On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to 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
- He arrestedπιάζωpiazō · to arrest/catchG4084
- ·ὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- putτίθημιtithēmi · to placeG5087
- inεἰςeis · towardG1519
- prisonφυλακήphulakē · prison/watch: prisonG5438
- handing him overπαραδίδωμιparadidōmi · to deliverG3860
- to be guardedφυλάσσωphulassō · to keep/guard: guardG5442
- to be guardedαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- by fourτέσσαρεςtessares tessara · fourG5064
- squads of fourτετράδιονtetradion · squad of fourG5069
- soldiersστρατιώτηςstratiōtēs · soldierG4757
- intendedβούλομαιboulomai · to planG1014
- to bring him outἀνάγωanagō · to leadG321
- to theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- peopleλαόςlaos · a peopleG2992
- afterμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
- Passoverπάσχαpascha · Passover lambG3957
Cross-references for Acts 12:4
- Acts 4:3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.
- Acts 5:18and arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
- Acts 8:3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
- Matthew 24:9Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
- Luke 21:12But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors.
- Luke 22:33“Lord,” said Peter, “I am ready to go with You even to prison and to death.”
- John 13:36“Lord, where are You going?” Simon Peter asked. Jesus answered, “Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.”
- John 21:18Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
- Acts 16:23And after striking them with many blows, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to guard them securely.
- Matthew 27:64So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first.”
- Acts 4:28They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.
- Esther 3:6And when he learned the identity of Mordecai’s people, he scorned the notion of laying hands on Mordecai alone. Instead, he sought to destroy all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the kingdom of Xerxes.
- Proverbs 19:21Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
- Proverbs 27:1Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
- Lamentations 3:37Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has ordained it?
- Matthew 26:5“But not during the feast,” they said, “or there may be a riot 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
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