Eusebius Book 2, Section 9

2.9.1

(IX.) “ κατ’ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρόν, δῆλον δ’ ὅτι τὸν ἐπὶ Κλαυδίου, ἐπέβαλεν Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς χεῖρας κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀνεῖλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου μαχαίρᾳ.” περὶ τούτου : δ’ ὁ Κλήμης τοῦ Ἰακώβου καὶ ἱστορίαν μνήμης ἀξίαν ἐν τῆ τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων ἑβδόμη παρατίθεται ὡς ἂν ἐκ παραδόσεως τῶν πρὸ αὐτοῦ φάσκων ὅτι δὴ ὁ εἰσαγαγὼν αὐτὸν εἰς ὡμολόγησεν μαρτυρήσαντα αὐτὸν ἰδὼν κινηθείς, ὡμολόγησεν εἶναι καὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν χριστιανόν. “ συναπήχθησαν: οὖν ἄμφω,’’ φησίν, “ κοὶ κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ἠξίωσεν ἀφεθῆναι αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἰακώβου· ὁ δὲ ὀλίγον σκεψάμενος, ‘ εἰρήνη σοι ’ εἶπεν καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν. καὶ οὕτως ἀμφότεροι ὁμοῦ ἐκαρατομήθησαν.

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(IX.) “Now at that time”—obviously that of Claudius,—“Herod the king put forth his hand to vex certain of the church and killed James the brother of John with the sword.” Concerning this James, Clement adds in the seventh book of the Hypotyposes a story worth mentioning, apparently from the tradition of his predecessors, to the effect that he who brought him to the court was so moved at seeing him testify as to confess that he also was himself a Christian. “So they were both led away,” he says, “and on the way he asked for forgiveness for himself from James. And James looked at him for a moment and said, ‘Peace be to you,’ and kissed him. And so both were beheaded at the same time.”

2.9.2

Τότε δῆτα, ὥς φησιν ἡ θεία γραφή, ἰδὼν Ἡρῴδης ἐπὶ τῆ τοῦ Ἰακώβου ἀναιρέσει πρὸς ἡδονῆς γεγονὸς τὸ πραχθὲν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, ἐπιτίθεται καὶ Πέτρῳ, δεσμοῖς τε αὐτὸν παραδούς, ὅσον οὔπω καὶ τὸν κατ’ αὐτοῦ φόνον ἐνήργησεν ἄν, εἰ μὴ διὰ θείας ἐπιφανείας, ἐπιστάντος αὐτῷ νύκτωρ ἀγγέλου, παραδόξως τῶν εἱργμῶν ἀπαλλαγείς, ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ κηρύγματος ἀφεῖται διακονίαν. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ Πέτρον οὕτως εἶχεν οἰκονομίας.

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At that time, as the divine scripture says, Herod, seeing that his action in the murder of James had given pleasure to the Jews, turned to Peter also, put him in prison, and would have perpetrated his murder also had it not been for divine intervention at the last moment, for an angel appeared to him by night, and he was miraculously released from his bonds and set free for the ministry of preaching. Such was the dispensation of heaven for Peter.