Acts 12:19

19 Herod looked everywhere for him but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed. Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed.

Acts 12:19 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 12:19

And when Herod had sought for him and found him not
Neither in the prison, nor in any part of the city:

he examined the keepers;
of the prison, and those that were upon the watch, whether they had not been accessary to his escape:

and commanded that they should be put to death:
or brought forth, not before a judge to be tried and judged, because they had been examined by Herod already; but either that they should be carried and laid in bonds, or be led forth to suffer punishment; and so our version directs, and which is confirmed by the Syriac; and the Greeks say F14, that (apagwgh) is a kind of punishment:

and he went down from Judea to Caesarea;
not Peter, but Herod:

and there abode;
of this journey of Agrippa's to Caesarea, Josephus makes mention F15; this place was distant from Jerusalem six hundred furlongs, or seventy five miles F16.


FOOTNOTES:

F14 Harpocratian. Lex. p. 32.
F15 Antiqu. l. 19. c. 2. sect. 2.
F16 De Bello Jud. l. 1. c. 3. sect. 5.

Acts 12:19 In-Context

17 Peter made a sign with his hand to tell them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord led him out of the jail, and he said, "Tell James and the other believers what happened." Then he left to go to another place.
18 The next day the soldiers were very upset and wondered what had happened to Peter.
19 Herod looked everywhere for him but could not find him. So he questioned the guards and ordered that they be killed. Later Herod moved from Judea and went to the city of Caesarea, where he stayed.
20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but the people of those cities all came in a group to him. After convincing Blastus, the king's personal servant, to be on their side, they asked Herod for peace, because their country got its food from his country.
21 On a chosen day Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to the people.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.