In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.

Be silent, you people of the island and you merchants of Sidon, whom the seafarers have enriched.

Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you people of the island.

Therefore in the east give glory to the Lord; exalt the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, in the islands of the sea.

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

The Helper of Israel

“Be silent before me, you islands! Let the nations renew their strength! Let them come forward and speak; let us meet together at the place of judgment.

The islands have seen it and fear; the ends of the earth tremble. They approach and come forward;

he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

Song of Praise to the Lord

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise in the islands.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; I will turn rivers into islands and dry up the pools.

The Servant of the Lord

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.

My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will look to me and wait in hope for my arm.

According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.

Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.

“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.

Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,

Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island.

As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure,

Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

Paul Ashore on Malta

Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.

The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.

When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.”

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days.