Bible Strands
Acts 12:19
After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrative records Herod’s actions immediately after his guards discover Peter missing from the prison. He responds to the failed security operation by interrogating the guards and ordering their execution before relocating from Judea to Caesarea.
The words — ἐπιζητήσας (epizētēsas) means “having sought after,” paired with εὑρὼν (heurōn) meaning “having found.” The phrase μὴ εὑρὼν αὐτὸν (mē heurōn auton) literally states that Herod did not find him.
The thread — This pattern of failed pursuit against a protected figure parallels the wicked lying in wait in Psalms 37:32 and the chief priests’ plot against Lazarus in John 12:10. The subsequent move to Caesarea directly establishes the diplomatic crisis with Tyre and Sidon described in Acts 12:20.
Why it lands — The text demands observation that human authority cannot override divine preservation, and that institutional failure triggers immediate accountability. It requires the reader to note how political power shifts location and focus when its primary objective is thwarted.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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 he went down from Judea to Cesarea, and there abode.
Cross-references
- Acts 16:27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.
- Psalms 37:32 Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- John 12:10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
- 1 Samuel 23:14 And David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God would not deliver David into his hand.
- 1 Kings 20:43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.
- Esther 6:12 Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.
- Daniel 2:11 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
- Matthew 2:13 When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
- Acts 8:40 But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
- Acts 12:4 He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.