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the Week of Proper 8 / Ordinary 13
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Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

Acts 12:2

and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword.

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

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.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he killed Iames the brother of Iohn with the sworde.
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

1About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, 2and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

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 will bless those who bless you,I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt,and all the peoples on earthwill be blessed through you.
Genesis 12:4
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Genesis 12:6
Abram passed through the land to the site of Shechem, at the oak of Moreh. (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)
Genesis 12:8
From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He built an altar to the Lord there, and he called on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 12:9
Then Abram journeyed by stages to the Negev.
Genesis 12:10
There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.
Genesis 12:14
When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
Genesis 12:16
He treated Abram well because of her, and Abram acquired flocks and herds, male and female donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.
Genesis 12:17
But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife Sarai.
Genesis 12:18
So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

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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