1 V ers le même temps, le roi Hérode se mit à maltraiter quelques membres de l'Église,

At that time King Herod used his power to make it hard for the Christians in the church.

2 e t il fit mourir par l'épée Jacques, frère de Jean.

He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword.

3 V oyant que cela était agréable aux Juifs, il fit encore arrêter Pierre. -C'était pendant les jours des pains sans levain. -

When he saw that it made the Jews happy, he took hold of Peter also. This was during the special religious gathering to remember how the Jews left Egypt.

4 A près l'avoir saisi et jeté en prison, il le mit sous la garde de quatre escouades de quatre soldats chacune, avec l'intention de le faire comparaître devant le peuple après la Pâque.

Herod took Peter and put him in prison and had sixteen soldiers watch him. After the special religious gathering was over, he planned to bring Peter out to the people. Peter Goes Free

5 P ierre donc était gardé dans la prison; et l'Église ne cessait d'adresser pour lui des prières à Dieu.

So Peter was held in prison. But the church kept praying to God for him.

6 L a nuit qui précéda le jour où Hérode allait le faire comparaître, Pierre, lié de deux chaînes, dormait entre deux soldats; et des sentinelles devant la porte gardaient la prison.

The night before Herod was to bring him out for his trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. He was tied with two chains. Soldiers stood by the door and watched the prison.

7 E t voici, un ange du Seigneur survint, et une lumière brilla dans la prison. L'ange réveilla Pierre, en le frappant au côté, et en disant: Lève-toi promptement! Les chaînes tombèrent de ses mains.

All at once an angel of the Lord was seen standing beside him. A light shone in the building. The angel hit Peter on the side and said, “Get up!” Then the chains fell off his hands.

8 E t l'ange lui dit: Mets ta ceinture et tes sandales. Et il fit ainsi. L'ange lui dit encore: Enveloppe-toi de ton manteau, et suis-moi.

The angel said, “Put on your belt and shoes!” He did. The angel said to Peter, “Put on your coat and follow me.”

9 P ierre sortit, et le suivit, ne sachant pas que ce qui se faisait par l'ange fût réel, et s'imaginant avoir une vision.

Peter followed him out. He was not sure what was happening as the angel helped him. He thought it was a dream.

10 L orsqu'ils eurent passé la première garde, puis la seconde, ils arrivèrent à la porte de fer qui mène à la ville, et qui s'ouvrit d'elle-même devant eux; ils sortirent, et s'avancèrent dans une rue. Aussitôt l'ange quitta Pierre.

They passed one soldier, then another one. They came to the big iron door that leads to the city and it opened by itself and they went through. As soon as they had gone up one street, the angel left him. The Christians Find It Hard to Believe Peter Is Free

11 R evenu à lui-même, Pierre dit: Je vois maintenant d'une manière certaine que le Seigneur a envoyé son ange, et qu'il m'a délivré de la main d'Hérode et de tout ce que le peuple juif attendait.

As Peter began to see what was happening, he said to himself, “Now I am sure the Lord has sent His angel and has taken me out of the hands of Herod. He has taken me also from all the things the Jews wanted to do to me.”

12 A près avoir réfléchi, il se dirigea vers la maison de Marie, mère de Jean, surnommé Marc, où beaucoup de personnes étaient réunies et priaient.

After thinking about all this, he went to Mary’s house. She was the mother of John Mark. Many Christians were gathered there praying.

13 I l frappa à la porte du vestibule, et une servante, nommée Rhode, s'approcha pour écouter.

When Peter knocked at the gate, a girl named Rhoda went to see who it was.

14 E lle reconnut la voix de Pierre; et, dans sa joie, au lieu d'ouvrir, elle courut annoncer que Pierre était devant la porte.

She knew Peter’s voice, but in her joy she forgot to open the gate. She ran in and told them that Peter was standing outside the gate.

15 I ls lui dirent: Tu es folle. Mais elle affirma que la chose était ainsi.

They said to her, “You are crazy.” But she said again that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.”

16 E t ils dirent: C'est son ange. Cependant Pierre continuait à frapper. Ils ouvrirent, et furent étonnés de le voir.

Peter kept knocking. When they opened the gate and saw him, they were surprised and wondered about it.

17 P ierre, leur ayant de la main fait signe de se taire, leur raconta comment le Seigneur l'avait tiré de la prison, et il dit: Annoncez-le à Jacques et aux frères. Puis il sortit, et s'en alla dans un autre lieu.

He raised his hand and told them not to talk but to listen to him. He told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He said, “Tell all these things to James and to the other Christian brothers.” Then he went to another place. The Death of Herod

18 Q uand il fit jour, les soldats furent dans une grande agitation, pour savoir ce que Pierre était devenu.

In the morning the soldiers were very troubled about what had happened to Peter.

19 H érode, s'étant mis à sa recherche et ne l'ayant pas trouvé, interrogea les gardes, et donna l'ordre de les mener au supplice. Ensuite il descendit de la Judée à Césarée, pour y séjourner.

Herod looked for him but could not find him. He asked the soldiers who watched the prison about Peter. Herod said that the soldiers must be killed because Peter got away. Then Herod went down from the country of Judea to the city of Caesarea to stay for awhile.

20 H érode avait des dispositions hostiles à l'égard des Tyriens et des Sidoniens. Mais ils vinrent le trouver d'un commun accord; et, après avoir gagné Blaste, son chambellan, ils sollicitèrent la paix, parce que leur pays tirait sa subsistance de celui du roi.

Herod was very angry with the people of the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They went to him and asked for peace to be made between them and the king. They asked this because their country got food from the king’s country. The people made friends with Blastus, the king’s helper.

21 A un jour fixé, Hérode, revêtu de ses habits royaux, et assis sur son trône, les harangua publiquement.

A day was set aside. On that day Herod put on purple clothes a king wears. He sat on his throne and spoke to the people.

22 L e peuple s'écria: Voix d'un dieu, et non d'un homme!

They all started to speak with a loud voice, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”

23 A u même instant, un ange du Seigneur le frappa, parce qu'il n'avait pas donné gloire à Dieu. Et il expira, rongé des vers.

The angel of the Lord knocked him down because he did not give honor to God. He was eaten by worms and died.

24 C ependant la parole de Dieu se répandait de plus en plus, et le nombre des disciples augmentait.

The Word of God was heard by many people and went into more places.

25 B arnabas et Saul, après s'être acquittés de leur message, s'en retournèrent de Jérusalem, emmenant avec eux Jean, surnommé Marc.

Saul and Barnabas went back to Jerusalem after they had finished their work. They took John Mark with them.