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¹ And at that time Herod the king, who was surnamed Agrippa, laid hands on some of the church, to maltreat them.² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.³ And when he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded also to arrest Simon Cephas. And the days of unleavened bread were then passing.⁴ He seized him and cast him into prison, and delivered him to sixteen soldiers, who were to guard him; that he might, after the passover, deliver him up to the people of the Jews.

⁵ And while Simon was in custody in the prison, continual prayer to God in his behalf, was offered to God by the church.⁶ And on the night before the morning in which he was to be delivered up, while Simon was sleeping between two soldiers, and was bound with two chains, and others were guarding the doors of the prison;⁷ an angel of the Lord stood over him, and a light shone in all the building; and he pricked his side, and awaked him, and said to him: Arise, instantly. And the chains fell from his hands.⁸ And the angel said to him: Gird thy loins, and put on thy sandals. And he did so. And again he said to him: Wrap thyself in thy cloak, and come after me.⁹ And he went out and followed him, not knowing that what had been done by the angel was a reality; for he supposed, that he saw a vision.¹⁰ And when the first ward was passed and the second, they came to the iron gate, and it opened to them of its own accord. And when they had gone out, and had passed one street, the angel departed from him.¹¹ Then Simon recognized [fn] ; and he said: Now I know, in reality, that God hath sent his angel, and delivered me from the hand of Herod the king, and from what the Jews were devising against me. ¹² And when he had considered, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John surnamed Mark; because many brethren were assembled there and praying.¹³ And he knocked at the gate of the court; and a maid named Rhoda came to reply to him.¹⁴ And she recognized the voice of Simon: and, In her joy, she did not open to him the gate, but ran back, and told them: Lo, Simon is standing at the gate of the court.¹⁵ They said to her: Thou art delirious. But she maintained that it was a fact. They said to her: Perhaps it is his ghost.¹⁶ And Simon was knocking at the gate; and they went out, saw him, and were astonished.¹⁷ And he beckoned to them with the hand to be still; and he went in, and related to them how the Lord had released him from the prison. And he said to them: Tell these things to James and to the brethren. And he went out, and departed to another place.¹⁸ And when it was morning, there was a great dispute among the soldiers concerning Simon, what had become of him.¹⁹ And Herod, when he sought him, and could not find him, arraigned the keepers, and sentenced them to die. And he went from Judaea, and resided at Caesarea.

²⁰ And because he was angry against the Tyrians and Sidonians, they assembled and came to him in a body; and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they begged of him that they might have peace; because the supplies of their country were derived from the kingdom of Herod.²¹ And on a day appointed, Herod was arrayed in royal apparel, and sat on a tribunal, and made a speech to the assembly.²² And all the people shouted, and said: These are the utterances of a God, and not of a mortal.²³ And, because he gave not the glory to God, immediately the angel of God smote him; and he was eaten of worms, and died.²⁴ And the gospel of God was proclaimed, and made progress.²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul, after they had completed their ministration, returned from Jerusalem to Antioch. And they took with them John, who was surnamed Mark.