Acts 12:5-17

5So Herod kept Peter in prison. But during that time, the group of believers prayed that God would help Peter.

6It was the night before King Herod wanted to bring Peter out of the prison and judge him. The soldiers had tied Peter to themselves with chains. So Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Some other soldiers were guarding the doors of the prison.

7Then, an angel from the Lord God suddenly appeared in the prison. A bright light shone in the room where Peter was sleeping. The angel touched Peter's shoulder so that Peter woke up. He said to Peter, ‘Hurry! Stand up!’ Immediately the chains fell off Peter's hands.

8Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and your shoes.’ Peter did what the angel told him to do. Then the angel said, ‘Now put on your coat and follow me.’

9So Peter followed the angel out of the prison. He was not sure that all these things were really happening to him. He thought that he might be dreaming.

10Peter and the angel walked past the first group of soldiers in the prison. Then they walked past the second group of soldiers. After that, they came to the big metal gate in the wall of the prison. The city was outside this gate. The gate opened by itself in front of them. So Peter and the angel went out of the prison through the gate. They walked together along one street and then, suddenly, the angel went away.

11Then Peter understood what had happened. He said to himself, ‘Now I know that these things really have happened to me. The Lord God sent one of his angels to rescue me from Herod's power. The Jewish leaders wanted Herod to cause me to suffer. But God has saved me from those bad things.’

12When Peter realized what God had done for him, he went to Mary's house. She was the mother of John Mark. Many people were meeting together in her house. They were praying to God.

13Peter knocked on the outside door of the house. A servant girl called Rhoda came to the door.

14She recognized Peter's voice and she was very happy. But she did not open the door. Instead, she ran back into the house and she said to all the people there, ‘Peter is standing outside the door!’

15The people in the house said to her, ‘You are crazy.’ But she told them again that Peter really was there. So then they said, ‘It is not him, but it is his angel.’

16While all this was happening, Peter was still knocking at the door. Then someone went and opened the door. They were all very surprised when they saw him there.

17Peter raised his hand towards them so that they would all be quiet. Then he explained to them how the Lord God had brought him out of the prison. He said to them, ‘Tell James and all the other believers what has happened to me.’ Then he left the house and he went away to another place.