Acts 28:1-6 ▼

1 Once we were safely ashore, we learned that the island was called Malta.

2 The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.

3 Paul gathered a bundle of sticks, and as he laid them on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself to his hand.

4 When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.

5 But Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

6 The islanders 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.