Acts 28:1-10

Evangelical Heritage Version

Safe on Malta

28 Once we were safely on shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The natives showed us extraordinary kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all, because it had started to rain and was cold.

³ As Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and laid it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. ⁴ When the natives saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he escaped from the sea, Justice^[a] has not allowed him to live.”

⁵ However, Paul shook the snake off into the fire and was not harmed. ⁶ The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

⁷ In the nearby vicinity was an estate that belonged to a man named Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as his guests for three days. ⁸ The father of Publius happened to be sick in bed, suffering from a fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, laid his hands on him, and healed him.

⁹ After that happened, others on the island who were sick also came and were healed. ¹⁰ They honored us in many ways, and when we were going to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.