15. "You’ve lost your mind!" they responded. She stuck by her story with such determination that they began to say, "It must be his guardian angel."
16. Meanwhile, Peter remained outside, knocking at the gate. They finally opened the gate and saw him there, and they were astounded.
17. He gestured with his hand to quiet them down, then recounted how the Lord led him out of prison. He said, "Tell this to James and the brothers and sisters." Then he left for another place.
18. The next morning the soldiers were flustered about what had happened to Peter.
19. Herod called for a thorough search. When Peter didn’t turn up, Herod interrogated the guards and had them executed. Afterward, Herod left Judea in order to spend some time in Caesarea.
20. Herod had been furious with the people of Tyre and Sidon for some time. They made a pact to approach him together, since their region depended on the king’s realm for its food supply. They persuaded Blastus, the king’s personal attendant, to join their cause, then appealed for an end to hostilities.
21. On the scheduled day Herod dressed himself in royal attire, seated himself on the throne, and gave a speech to the people.
22. Those assembled kept shouting, over and over, "This is a god’s voice, not the voice of a mere human!"
23. Immediately an angel from the Lord struck Herod down, because he didn’t give the honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.
24. God’s word continued to grow and increase.
25. Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch from Jerusalem after completing their mission, bringing with them John, who was also known as Mark.