In the Bible, there are two different rulers called “King Herod,” and each has a distinct fate. One is Herod the Great (at Jesus’ birth), and the other is Herod Agrippa I (in the book of Acts).
Herod the Great
Herod the Great ruled Judea at the time Jesus was born and is known for ordering the massacre of the baby boys in Bethlehem when he heard about the birth of a “king of the Jews.” The Gospel of Matthew says that after this, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stayed safely in Egypt “until the death of Herod,” and only then returned, which implies that Herod the Great simply dies offstage in the narrative rather than in a described dramatic judgment scene.
Herod Agrippa I
In Acts 12, another “King Herod” (Herod Agrippa I, ruling later) persecutes the church, has James killed, and imprisons Peter. Acts reports that when he accepts the crowd’s praise as if he were a god, an angel of the Lord strikes him, he is “eaten by worms,” and he dies, presenting his death as a direct divine judgment.
