Herod Agrippa I
Persecutor of the Early Church
Herod Agrippa I was the grandson of Herod the Great and ruled over Judea from 41-44 AD. He was the first king to actively persecute the Christian community, killing the apostle James and imprisoning Peter. His sudden and dramatic death is described as a divine judgment because he accepted the people's worship.
Family
Key events
Kills the Apostle James
Herod Agrippa I had the apostle James, the brother of John, executed by the sword. This was the first martyrdom among the twelve apostles.
1About that time King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to do them harm.
Κατʼ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐπέβαλεν Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς χεῖρας κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας.
2He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.
ἀνεῖλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου μαχαίρῃ.
Imprisoning Peter
When Herod saw that the execution of James pleased the Jews, he also had Peter arrested and imprisoned under strict guard.
3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went on to seize Peter as well. This was during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
⸂ἰδὼν δὲ⸃ ὅτι ἀρεστόν ἐστιν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις προσέθετο συλλαβεῖν καὶ Πέτρον (ἦσαν ⸀δὲ ἡμέραι τῶν ἀζύμων),
4After arresting him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
ὃν καὶ πιάσας ἔθετο εἰς φυλακήν, παραδοὺς τέσσαρσιν τετραδίοις στρατιωτῶν φυλάσσειν αὐτόν, βουλόμενος μετὰ τὸ πάσχα ἀναγαγεῖν αὐτὸν τῷ λαῷ.
5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying to God for him without ceasing.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Πέτρος ἐτηρεῖτο ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ· προσευχὴ δὲ ἦν ⸀ἐκτενῶς γινομένη ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ⸀περὶ αὐτοῦ.
Peter's Miraculous Release
An angel freed Peter from prison during the night, despite the sixteen soldiers who were guarding him.
6On the very night before Herod was to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while sentries stood guard at the door of the prison.
Ὅτε δὲ ἤμελλεν ⸂προαγαγεῖν αὐτὸν⸃ ὁ Ἡρῴδης, τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ ἦν ὁ Πέτρος κοιμώμενος μεταξὺ δύο στρατιωτῶν δεδεμένος ἁλύσεσιν δυσίν, φύλακές τε πρὸ τῆς θύρας ἐτήρουν τὴν φυλακήν.
7Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Quick, get up!" And the chains fell from his wrists.
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπέστη, καὶ φῶς ἔλαμψεν ἐν τῷ οἰκήματι· πατάξας δὲ τὴν πλευρὰν τοῦ Πέτρου ἤγειρεν αὐτὸν λέγων· Ἀνάστα ἐν τάχει· καὶ ἐξέπεσαν αὐτοῦ αἱ ἁλύσεις ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν.
8Then the angel said to him, "Get dressed and put on your sandals." He did so. "Wrap your cloak around you," the angel said, "and follow me."
εἶπεν ⸀δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος πρὸς αὐτόν· ⸀Ζῶσαι καὶ ὑπόδησαι τὰ σανδάλιά σου· ἐποίησεν δὲ οὕτως. καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· Περιβαλοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιόν σου καὶ ἀκολούθει μοι.
9So Peter went out and followed him, not realizing that what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.
καὶ ἐξελθὼν ⸀ἠκολούθει, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδει ὅτι ἀληθές ἐστιν τὸ γινόμενον διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου, ἐδόκει δὲ ὅραμα βλέπειν.
10They passed the first guard post and then the second, and came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went out and walked the length of one street. Then, all at once, the angel left him.
διελθόντες δὲ πρώτην φυλακὴν καὶ δευτέραν ἦλθαν ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην τὴν σιδηρᾶν τὴν φέρουσαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ἥτις αὐτομάτη ἠνοίγη αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐξελθόντες προῆλθον ῥύμην μίαν, καὶ εὐθέως ἀπέστη ὁ ἄγγελος ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ.
11Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know beyond a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's hand and from everything the Jewish people were expecting."
καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ⸂ἐν ἑαυτῷ γενόμενος⸃ εἶπεν· Νῦν οἶδα ἀληθῶς ὅτι ἐξαπέστειλεν ⸀ὁ κύριος τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξείλατό με ἐκ χειρὸς Ἡρῴδου καὶ πάσης τῆς προσδοκίας τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων.
Execution of the Guards
When Herod discovered that Peter was gone, he interrogated the guards and ordered them to be executed.
18When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.
Γενομένης δὲ ἡμέρας ἦν τάραχος οὐκ ὀλίγος ἐν τοῖς στρατιώταις, τί ἄρα ὁ Πέτρος ἐγένετο.
19Herod made a thorough search for him, and when he did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered them led away for execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
Ἡρῴδης δὲ ἐπιζητήσας αὐτὸν καὶ μὴ εὑρὼν ἀνακρίνας τοὺς φύλακας ἐκέλευσεν ἀπαχθῆναι, καὶ κατελθὼν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας ⸀εἰς Καισάρειαν διέτριβεν.
Herodes' Death as Divine Judgment
During a speech in Caesarea, the people shouted that it was the voice of a god. Because Herod did not give glory to God, he was struck by an angel of the Lord and died, eaten by worms.
20Now Herod was in a bitter quarrel with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him together and, after winning over Blastus, the king's personal attendant, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's land for its food.
Ἦν ⸀δὲ θυμομαχῶν Τυρίοις καὶ Σιδωνίοις· ὁμοθυμαδὸν δὲ παρῆσαν πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ πείσαντες Βλάστον τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος τοῦ βασιλέως ᾐτοῦντο εἰρήνην διὰ τὸ τρέφεσθαι αὐτῶν τὴν χώραν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς.
21On the appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the judgment platform, and delivered a public address to them.
τακτῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ Ἡρῴδης ἐνδυσάμενος ἐσθῆτα βασιλικὴν ⸀καὶ καθίσας ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ἐδημηγόρει πρὸς αὐτούς·
22The crowd kept shouting, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man!"
ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐπεφώνει· ⸂Θεοῦ φωνὴ⸃ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπου.
23At once an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he had not given God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
παραχρῆμα δὲ ἐπάταξεν αὐτὸν ἄγγελος κυρίου ἀνθʼ ὧν οὐκ ἔδωκεν ⸀τὴν δόξαν τῷ θεῷ, καὶ γενόμενος σκωληκόβρωτος ἐξέψυξεν.