Acts 12:1-6

But prisons had not always managed to contain the apostles, including Peter. (Acts 5:17-20) Herod may well have known that. The canny politician took no chances. He turned Peter over to “four shifts of four soldiers each to guard him, as he intended to produce him for the people after the passover.” (Verse 4) Imagine that! Herod had Peter chained between 2 guards, with 16 guards working in shifts day and night to make sure that this apostle did not escape. Herod’s intention was to present Peter to the people after the Passover, his death sentence a gift to delight the crowds.