Bible Strands
Acts 12:23
Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Narrative, not dialogue; the narrator reports Herod's death in the same breath as the crowd's acclamation in v. 22, with no intervening time.
The words — παραχρῆμα (parachrēma) = "immediately," a suddenness that leaves no gap between sin and judgment. ἀνθ᾽ (anth') = "in return," marking the angel's strike as a direct retaliation for the withheld glory.
The thread — The same pattern of human self-exaltation and its cost runs through Psalms 115:1, Acts 10:25, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
Why it lands — It asks the reader to recognize where they are accepting or offering divine honors to a person and to redirect that to God.
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 immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
Cross-references
- Psalms 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.
- Acts 10:25 As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Acts 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
- 1 Samuel 25:38 About ten days later, the LORD struck Nabal dead.
- Daniel 4:30 the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
- Daniel 5:18 As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
- Exodus 12:29 Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as all the firstborn among the livestock.
- 2 Samuel 24:16 But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that time the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
- Isaiah 37:23 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!