10
They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
11
Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
12
When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.
13
He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.
14
When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
15
“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
16
Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.
17
He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.
18
At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter.
19
Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.
20
Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant,