EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Acts 12:2
2He sent his soldiers to cut off James's head. James was John's brother.
Acts 12:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
- New International Version (NIV)He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He killed James the brother of John with the sword,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Context of Acts 12:2
1At that time, King Herod took hold of some of the group of believers in Jerusalem. He wanted to cause them to suffer. He sent his soldiers to cut off James's head. James was John's brother. 3King Herod saw that the Jews were happy because he had killed James. So he sent his soldiers to take hold of Peter too. This happened during the Festival of Flat Bread. 4After the soldiers caught Peter, they put him in prison. While he was in prison, four different groups of soldiers guarded him. There were four soldiers in each group. Herod wanted to judge Peter in front of everybody. After the Passover festival had finished, he would bring Peter out of the prison to do this.
Read all of Acts 12Acts 12:2 word by word
ἀνεῖλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου μαχαίρῃ.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Acts 12:2
- Matthew 4:21They continued to walk along the shore. Soon Jesus saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were in their boat with their father, Zebedee. They were mending their nets. Jesus said to James and John, ‘Come with me.’
- Matthew 20:23Jesus said to them, ‘Yes, that is true. You will have pain and trouble like mine. But I cannot promise that you will sit at my right side or at my left side. My Father God has chosen the people who will sit there. He has prepared the places for those people.’
- Mark 10:35James and John, who were Zebedee's sons, came to Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘we want to ask you for something. Please do it for us.’
- 1 Kings 19:1King Ahab told Jezebel about everything that Elijah had done. He told her how Elijah had killed all Baal's prophets with a sword.
- Jeremiah 26:23They brought Uriah back from there to King Jehoiakim. The king punished Uriah with death. They threw his dead body in the place where they buried poor people.
- Hebrews 11:37Some of them died when people killed them with stones. Some of them died when people cut them into two pieces. Some of them died when people killed them with swords. Some of these people wore the skins of sheep and goats while they travelled about. They were very poor and they had a lot of trouble. People did bad things to them.
Commentaries on Acts 12:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2He killed James the brother of John with the sword - This was James the greater, son of Zebedee, and must be distinguished from James the less, son of Alpheus. This latter was put to death by Ananias the high priest, during the reign of Nero. This James with his brother John were those who requested to sit on the right and left hand of our Lord, see Matthew 20:23; and our Lord's prediction was now fulfilled in one of them, who by his martyrdom drank of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2And he killed - He caused to be put to death with a sword, either by beheading, or piercing him through. The Roman procurators were entrusted with authority over life, though in the time of Pilate the Jews had not this authority. James, the brother of John - This was the son of Zebedee, Matthew 4:21. He is commonly called James the Greater, in contradistinction from James, the son of Alpheus, who is called James the Less, Matthew 10:3. In this manner…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-5Jesus had prophesied that his followers would experience persecution and difficulty (Luke 11:49–51). For the first time since his death, Roman authorities acted violently against the church. James, the brother of John, was among the first disciples Jesus called (Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11). He was one of the first Christians killed because of his faith. King Herod Agrippa took action to intentionally harm the church (Acts 12:20–23). It is possible that…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-191-3. Herod the king--grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus. He at this time ruled over all his father's dominions. Paley has remarked the accuracy of the historian here. For thirty years before this there was no king at Jerusalem exercising supreme authority over Judea, nor was there ever afterwards, save during the three last years of Herod's life, within which the transactions occurred.Read the comment
Topics related to Acts 12:2
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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