| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | New Living Translation |
| 1[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 1Once we were safe on shore, we learned that we were on the island of Malta. |
| 2[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 2The people of the island were very kind to us. It was cold and rainy, so they built a fire on the shore to welcome us. |
| 3[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3As Paul gathered an armful of sticks and was laying them on the fire, a poisonous snake, driven out by the heat, bit him on the hand. |
| 4[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 4The people of the island saw it hanging from his hand and said to each other, “A murderer, no doubt! Though he escaped the sea, justice will not permit him to live.” |
| 5[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 5But Paul shook off the snake into the fire and was unharmed. |
| 6[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 6The people waited for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw that he wasn’t harmed, they changed their minds and decided he was a god. |
| 7[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 7Near the shore where we landed was an estate belonging to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us and treated us kindly for three days. |
| 8[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 8As it happened, Publius’s father was ill with fever and dysentery. Paul went in and prayed for him, and laying his hands on him, he healed him. |
| 9[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 9Then all the other sick people on the island came and were healed. |
| 10[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 10As a result we were showered with honors, and when the time came to sail, people supplied us with everything we would need for the trip. Paul Arrives at Rome |
| 11[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 11It was three months after the shipwreck that we set sail on another ship that had wintered at the island—an Alexandrian ship with the twin gods as its figurehead. |
| 12[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 12Our first stop was Syracuse, where we stayed three days. |
| 13[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 13From there we sailed across to Rhegium. A day later a south wind began blowing, so the following day we sailed up the coast to Puteoli. |
| 14[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 14There we found some believers, who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. |
| 15[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 15The brothers and sisters in Rome had heard we were coming, and they came to meet us at the Forum on the Appian Way. Others joined us at The Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he was encouraged and thanked God. |
| 16[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 16When we arrived in Rome, Paul was permitted to have his own private lodging, though he was guarded by a soldier. Paul Preaches at Rome under Guard |
| 17[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 17Three days after Paul’s arrival, he called together the local Jewish leaders. He said to them, “Brothers, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Roman government, even though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors. |
| 18[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 18The Romans tried me and wanted to release me, because they found no cause for the death sentence. |
| 19[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 19But when the Jewish leaders protested the decision, I felt it necessary to appeal to Caesar, even though I had no desire to press charges against my own people. |
| 20[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 20I asked you to come here today so we could get acquainted and so I could explain to you that I am bound with this chain because I believe that the hope of Israel—the Messiah—has already come.” |
| 21[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 21They replied, “We have had no letters from Judea or reports against you from anyone who has come here. |
| 22[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 22But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about this movement is that it is denounced everywhere.” |
| 23[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 23So a time was set, and on that day a large number of people came to Paul’s lodging. He explained and testified about the Kingdom of God and tried to persuade them about Jesus from the Scriptures. Using the law of Moses and the books of the prophets, he spoke to them from morning until evening. |
| 24[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 24Some were persuaded by the things he said, but others did not believe. |
| 25[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 25And after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul: “The Holy Spirit was right when he said to your ancestors through Isaiah the prophet, |
| 26[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 26‘Go and say to this people: When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. |
| 27[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 27For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ |
| 28[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 28So I want you to know that this salvation from God has also been offered to the Gentiles, and they will accept it.” |
| 29[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 29 |
| 30[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 30For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, |
| 31[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 31boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him. |
| [an error occurred while processing this directive] | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
|
