Acts 12:20

¹⁸ At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

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.

Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

²¹ On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.

²² And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man!”

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.
KJV: And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country.
WEB: Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came with one accord to him and, having made Blastus, the king’s personal aide, their friend, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
ASV: Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: and they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king`s chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king`s country.
DARBY: And he was in bitter hostility with [the] Tyrians and Sidonians; but they came to him with one accord, and, having gained Blastus the king's chamberlain, sought peace, because their country was nourished by the king's.
BLB: Now he was furiously angry with the Tyrians and Sidonians, and they came to him with one accord. And having gained Blastus, who [was] over the bedchamber of the king, they were seeking peace because of their region being nourished by the king’s.

ÅB: Han var meget forbitret på tyrierne og sidonierne; men de enedes om å trede fram for ham, og etter at de hadde fått Blastus, kongens kammerherre, på sin side, ba de om fred, fordi deres land hadde sin næring fra kongens.
OTB: Han var i konflikt med folket i Tyrus og Sidon. De kom til ham i enighet, og etter å ha sikret seg støtte fra Blastus, kongens kammerherre, søkte de fred fordi deres område var avhengig av kongens land for mat.
B1930: Han var meget forbitret på tyrierne og sidonierne; men de enedes om å trede frem for ham, og efterat de hadde fått Blastus, kongens kammerherre, på sin side, bad de om fred, fordi deres land hadde sin næring fra kongens.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Ezra 3:7
They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.
Read in context
Ezekiel 27:17
Judah and the land of Israel traded with you; they exchanged wheat from Minnith, cakes and honey, oil and balm for your merchandise.
Read in context
Matthew 11:21–22
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Read in context
Luke 14:31–32
Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Read in context
Luke 16:8
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
Read in context
Amos 4:6–9
“I beset all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
Read in context
2 Chronicles 2:15
Now let my lord send to his servants the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine he promised.
Read in context
Isaiah 27:4–5
I am not angry. If only thorns and briers confronted Me, I would march and trample them, I would burn them to the ground.
Read in context