Acts 28:1-6

New Century Version

Paul on the Island of Malta

28 When we were safe on land, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The people who lived there were very good to us. Because it was raining and very cold, they made a fire and welcomed all of us. ³ Paul gathered a pile of sticks and was putting them on the fire when a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him on the hand. ⁴ The people living on the island saw the snake hanging from Paul’s hand and said to each other, “This man must be a murderer! He did not die in the sea, but Justice^[a] does not want him to live.” ⁵ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not hurt. ⁶ The people thought that Paul would swell up or fall down dead. They waited and watched him for a long time, but nothing bad happened to him. So they changed their minds and said, “He is a god!”