Acts 28:1-6

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Malta’s Hospitality

28 Once ashore, we^(A) then learned that the island was called Malta.^{(B) 2} The local people^(C) showed us extraordinary kindness, for they lit a fire and took us all in, since it was raining and cold. ³ As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. ⁴ When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man is probably a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, Justice^[a] does not allow him to live!”^{(D) 5} However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.^{(E) 6} They expected that he would swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.^(F)