Paul on the Island of Malta

28 When we were safely on shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. ² The people who lived there were unusually kind to us. It had started to rain and was cold, so they started a bonfire and invited us to join them^[a] around it. ³ Paul gathered a bundle of sticks and put it on the fire. A poisonous snake was forced out by the heat and attached itself to Paul’s^[b] hand. ⁴ When the people who lived there saw the snake hanging from his hand, they told one another, “This man must be a murderer! He may have escaped from the sea, but Justice^[c] won’t let him live.” ⁵ But he shook the snake into the fire and wasn’t harmed. ⁶ They were expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

⁷ The governor of the island, whose name was Publius, owned estates in that part of the island. He welcomed us and entertained us with great hospitality for three days. ⁸ The father of Publius happened to be sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, and healed him by placing his hands on him. ⁹ After that had happened, the rest of the sick people on the island went to him and were healed. ¹⁰ The islanders^[d] honored us in many ways, and when we were about to sail again,^[e] they supplied us with everything we needed.