CHAPTER LI.

St. Peter in Prison. Death of Herod. Paul and
Silas in Prison.

OW about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church.

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 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. Peter therefore was kept in prison; but prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison. And he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him,

Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true what was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city, which opened to them of his own accord; and they went out, and passed through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him.

And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod. And he departed, and went into another place.

Now, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And, upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them of Tyre and Sidon, who desired peace of him. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But the word of God grew and multiplied.

Now, Barnabas, a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, had gone to Tarsus to seek Saul, who is also called Paul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And the disciples were

called Christians first in Antioch. And Barnabas and Paul, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed, and preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they sailed to Cyprus, and went through the isle unto Paphos, thence to Perga, in Pamphylia, and came to Antioch, in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and exhorted the people. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these same words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Now, when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you. But seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For, so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord and as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed. And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the Jews raised up persecutions against Paul and Barnabas,

and expelled them out of their coasts. And they came to Iconium. But the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. And in Iconium they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. And they abode there a long time, and then went to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Afterwards Paul and Silas went through Syria and Silicia, confirming the churches, and came again to Derbe and Lystra. And as they went through the cities they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. And passing by Mysia they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And Paul and Silas immediately went to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia. And on the Sabbath they went out of the city by a river's side, where prayer was wont to be made; and they sat down and spake to the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman, named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard them; whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended

unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought them, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained them. And as they went to prayer, some of the men of the city caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market-place unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God; and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and