The Death of Herod

Peter has vanished from his prison; Herod, unable to find him, questions the guards and orders them led away to execution. Then he goes down from Judea to Caesarea. He is hostile toward the people of Tyre and Sidon, but they come to him with one accord; after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they ask for peace, because their country depends on the king’s country for its food supply. On an appointed day, Herod, dressed in his royal robes and seated on his throne, makes a public address to them. The people shout: “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” At that very moment, an angel of the Lord strikes him down, because he did not give glory to God. Herod is eaten by worms and breathes his last. The persecutor has fallen; the word of God, meanwhile, spreads more and more, and the number of disciples grows.