Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Parallel translations
- WEB He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
- KJV And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
- BSB He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
- NASB And he had James the brother of John executed with a sword.
- NLT He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. An apostle becomes an early martyr for Christ.
Overview
James, one of the inner circle of apostles (Mark 5:37), is the first apostle martyred, fulfilling Jesus' word that he would share His cup of suffering (Mark 10:39). His death shows the real cost of faithfulness. That God permits a beloved apostle to die, yet later delivers Peter, reminds us His purposes are wise even when painful.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Heb 11:37They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
- Matt 20:23He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it is for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
- Matt 4:21–22Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them.
- Mark 10:35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came near to him, saying, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we will ask.”
- Mark 10:38But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
- 1 Kgs 19:1Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.
- 1 Kgs 19:10He said, “I have been very jealous for Yahweh, the God of Armies; for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
- Jer 26:23and they fetched Uriah out of Egypt, and brought him to Jehoiakim the king, who killed him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 12:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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