Bible Strands
Acts 12:2
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records King Herod Agrippa I’s persecution of the early church during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, specifically targeting a leader among the apostles.
The words — ἀνεῖλεν (aneilen) means "he executed," paired with μαχαίρᾳ (machairā), literally "with the sword," which specifies the method of killing.
The thread — This execution fulfills Jesus’ earlier warning to James and John that they would drink his cup, and aligns with the broader biblical witness to apostolic martyrdom by the sword (Matthew 20:23; Hebrews 11:37).
Why it lands — The text states Herod killed James to please the Jewish leaders. This demands readers acknowledge the historical cost of apostolic witness and the political mechanisms used against the early church.
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 he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Cross-references
- Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.
- Matthew 4:21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them,
- Matthew 20:23 “You will indeed drink My cup,” Jesus said. “But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom My Father has prepared them.”
- Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”
- Mark 10:38 “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?”
- 1 Kings 19:1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
- 1 Kings 19:10 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”
- Jeremiah 26:23 They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him put to the sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.