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Saturday, July 5th, 2025
the Week of Proper 8 / Ordinary 13
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Read the Bible

Bishop's Bible

Acts 12:2

And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sworde.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Beheading;   Herod;   Homicide;   James;   Jerusalem;   King;   Martyrdom;   Persecution;   Punishment;   Rulers;   Thompson Chain Reference - Beheading;   James;   Martyrs;   Men-Pleasers;   Nation, the;   Pleasing Men;   Popularity Sought;   Punishments;   Suffering for Righteousness' S;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Martyrdom;   Murder;   Punishments;   Sword, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Herod;   James;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Apostle;   Execution;   Herod;   James the apostle;   Judea;   Martyr;   Peter;   Rome;   Ruler;   Weapons;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Death of Christ;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Agrippa I.;   Apostle;   Behead;   Drusilla;   Herod Agrippa I.;   James;   Prayer;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Acts of the Apostles;   James;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Acts;   Hebrews;   Herod;   James;   James, the Letter;   Jews in the New Testament;   John;   Persecution in the Bible;   Squad;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Crimes and Punishments;   Herod;   James;   Mark, Gospel According to;   Peter;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Brethren;   Brethren of the Lord (2);   Herod;   James ;   James and John, the Sons of Zebedee;   Martyr;   Missions;   Peter;   Saviour (2);   Surname;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Herod, Family of;   James, Son of Zebedee;   New Testament;   Smith Bible Dictionary - James;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Armor;   James;   Persecution;   Quaternion;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - James;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword.
King James Version (1611)
And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sword.
King James Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
English Standard Version
He killed James the brother of John with the sword,
New American Standard Bible
And he had James the brother of John executed with a sword.
New Century Version
He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed by the sword.
Amplified Bible
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword;
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.
Legacy Standard Bible
And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.
Berean Standard Bible
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Contemporary English Version
He ordered soldiers to cut off the head of James, the brother of John.
Complete Jewish Bible
and he had Ya‘akov, Yochanan's brother, put to death by the sword.
Darby Translation
and slew James, the brother of John, with the sword.
Easy-to-Read Version
He ordered James, the brother of John, to be killed with a sword.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sword.
George Lamsa Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Good News Translation
He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.
Lexham English Bible
So he executed James the brother of John with a sword.
Literal Translation
And with a sword he did away with James the brother of John.
American Standard Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Bible in Basic English
And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.
Hebrew Names Version
He killed Ya`akov, the brother of Yochanan, with the sword.
International Standard Version
He even had James the brother of John killed with a sword.Matthew 4:21; 20:23;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
And he killed with the sword Jakub the brother of Juhanon.
Murdock Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
English Revised Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
World English Bible
He killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And he slew James, the brother of John, with the sword.
Weymouth's New Testament
and James, John's brother, he beheaded.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he slowe bi swerd James, the brothir of Joon.
Update Bible Version
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
New English Translation
He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.
New King James Version
Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
New Living Translation
He had the apostle James (John's brother) killed with a sword.
New Life Bible
He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword.
New Revised Standard
He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And slew James the brother of John with a sword;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he killed James, the brother of John, With the sword.
Revised Standard Version
He killed James the brother of John with the sword;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And he kylled Iames the brother of Iohn with the swerde:
Young's Literal Translation
and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
As for Iames the brother of Ihon, him he slewe with the swerde.
Mace New Testament (1729)
he caus'd James the brother of John to be beheaded.
Simplified Cowboy Version
He had James killed with a sword. James was one of the twelve original cowboys (the brother of John).

Contextual Overview

1 At the same tyme Herode the king stretched foorth his handes to vexe certayne of the Churche. 2 And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sworde. 3 And because he sawe it pleased the Iewes, he proceaded further, and toke Peter also. (Then were the dayes of sweete bread.) 4 And when he had caught hym, he put hym in pryson also, and delyuered hym to foure quaternions of souldiers to be kept, intendyng after Easter to bryng hym foorth to the people.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

James: Matthew 4:21, Matthew 4:22, Matthew 20:23, Mark 10:35, Mark 10:38

with: 1 Kings 19:1, 1 Kings 19:10, Jeremiah 26:23, Hebrews 11:37

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 17:36 - seeing Psalms 37:14 - wicked Daniel 11:33 - yet Matthew 10:2 - James Matthew 23:34 - ye Matthew 24:9 - shall they Mark 1:19 - James Mark 6:21 - when Mark 10:39 - Ye Luke 6:14 - James Luke 11:49 - and some Luke 21:16 - and some Acts 1:13 - Peter

Cross-References

Genesis 12:3
I wyll also blesse them that blesse thee, and curse the that curseth thee: and in thee shall all kinredes of the earth be blessed.
Genesis 12:4
And so Abram departed, euen as the Lorde had spoken vnto hym, and Lot went with him: and Abram was seuentie and fiue yeres old when he departed out of Haran.
Genesis 12:6
Abram passed through the lande, vnto the place of Sichem, vnto the plaine of Moreh. And the Chanaanite [was] then in the lande.
Genesis 12:8
And remouyng thence vnto a mountayne that was eastwarde from Bethel, he pitched his tent, hauyng Bethel on the west syde, & Hai on the east: and there he buyldyng an aulter vnto the Lorde, dyd call vpon the name of the Lorde.
Genesis 12:9
And Abram toke his iourney, goyng and iourneying towarde the south.
Genesis 12:10
[And] the there was a famine in that lande, and therfore went Abram downe into Egypt, that he myght soiourne there, for there was a greeuons famine in the lande.
Genesis 12:14
And so when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians behelde the woman, for she was very fayre.
Genesis 12:16
And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheepe and oxen, and he asses, menseruauntes, & maydeseruauntes, she asses and camelles.
Genesis 12:17
But the Lorde plagued Pharao and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai Abrams wyfe.
Genesis 12:18
And Pharao callyng Abram, sayde: why hast thou done this vnto me?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. This was James, the son of Zebedee, whom our Lord told, that he should be baptized with the baptism he was baptized with, Matthew 20:22 meaning the baptism of martyrdom; and he was the first martyr among the apostles: the death he was put to was one of the four capital punishments among the Jews, and was reckoned by them the most disgraceful of them all, and was inflicted upon deceivers of the people; and such an one James was thought to be e.

e Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 1, 3. & 11. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And he killed ... - He caused to be put to death with a sword, either by beheading, or piercing him through. The Roman procurators were entrusted with authority over life, though in the time of Pilate the Jews had not this authority.

James, the brother of John - This was the son of Zebedee, Matthew 4:21. He is commonly called James the Greater, in contradistinction from James, the son of Alpheus, who is called James the Less, Matthew 10:3. In this manner were the predictions of our Saviour respecting him fulfilled, Matthew 20:23, “Ye shall indeed drink of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 12:2. He killed James the brother of John with the sword. — This was James the greater, son of Zebedee, and must be distinguished from James the less, son of Alpheus. This latter was put to death by Ananias the high priest, during the reign of Nero. This James with his brother John were those who requested to sit on the right and left hand of our Lord, see Matthew 20:23; and our Lord's prediction was now fulfilled in one of them, who by his martyrdom drank of our Lord's cup, and was baptized with his baptism. By the death of James, the number of the apostles was reduced to eleven; and we do not find that ever it was filled up. The apostles never had any successors: God has continued their doctrine, but not their order.

By killing with the sword we are to understand beheading. Among the Jews there were four kinds of deaths:

1. Stoning;

2. burning;

3. killing with the sword, or beheading; and,

4. strangling.

The third was a Roman as well as a Jewish mode of punishment. Killing with the sword was the punishment which, according to the Talmud, was inflicted on those who drew away the people to any strange worship, Sanhedr. fol. iii. James was probably accused of this, and hence the punishment mentioned in the text.


 
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